Of Diamonds and Devils
by Joseph Kursk
Summary: The war is won, but it's not over. Azula is in prison, and the prime target of the newest psycho-path the gang faces. What will happen when the body count begins to rise? They can either divide and fall or unite and stand, but not all of them can be trusted. Kataang, Maiko, Sokki, Tokka, plus others. Mature relationship development. Torture scenes. Mature themes. OC characters.
1. Nightmares and Mudholes

Warning! This is the third in a series of writings. No backstory will be provided for original characters aside from the additional knowledge given in the story. If the reader is not familiar with the occurring backstory it is suggested that he/she would go and read through the diamond series up to this point, though it is perfectly acceptable to read through this story without it. Enjoy!

Chapter I

Fire, burning heat. An inexorable amount of heat barraged him. He was trapped, without a scintilla to move. Burning earth encased him, slowly melting around him. Fear seized up his chest, his breath becoming short and ragged. This was the end, this was defeat. The fetid smell of smoke penetrated his nostrils, bringing tears to his eyes. He peered through the thick smoke just in time to see one last image. Ozai.

Aang woke up with a start, grabbing his chest. He cried out, swinging an arm in self-defense. A blast of air shot the mantle into the wall, making it splinter, tearing the fire nation banner that hung on it. He gasped, looking around. The room was fire nation, extravagant and militaristic all in one look. The usual austerity that was expected with fire nation adornment, however, seemed to be missing. It was somehow kinder, and less insidious than he was used to dealing with. He slowly arose, letting the silk sheets fall to the ground. There was something he was forgetting here.

Aang smacked his head. Of course, they had won the war! He remembered now, it was just a month ago, he had defeated Ozai, and Zuko had become fire lord. They were now spending the winter with Zuko, planning for the Harmony Restoration Movement that was supposed to go into play in the spring, after the foul weather had abated. He let out a sigh. The nightmare had been so real. He could feel the beads of sweat trickling down to the base of his spine. His hands were still shacking and he felt woozy. Just because you were the avatar did not mean that you got a free pass on fear.

A noise impinged upon Aang's thoughts, bringing him back to the room. A soft cooing had begun at the base of the door, calling out to him. He smiled, walking over to the door and opening it.

"You miss me buddy?" He asked, holding out his arm. Little Momo sat before him, his furry body shifting quickly as he leapt unto Aang's arm. He scurried up to Aang's neck, making a comfortable perch around his head. Momo began to chatter, taking a second to lick Aang's ear. Aang laughed at the tickling sensation, patting Momo on the head.

"I missed you too Momo." He said, looking out into the hall. "Come on, let's go find the others." He said, walking out. Momo remained silent, staring about with that naturally curios gaze that is common to his kind.

Aang walked down the white marbled hall, red pillars with bases of gold flanking him on either side. Lush gardens sat outside the windows, the leaves slowly turning color as the cold of winter approached. The sound of his feet echoed throughout the hall, accompanied by Momo's incessant chirping. The fear from his nightmare slowly trickled away as the daylight greeted him.

Aang strolled down the hall, the sound of his feet clapping lightly against the marble. Usually he was the first one awake, but today it seemed that he had slept longer than normal, being entrapped by his ghoulish nightmare. He did not know why but he believed the nightmare to be a foul portent, foreshadowing future ills. However, in the garish light of the autumn day sun he could not long linger on such dreary thoughts and soon he was as chipper as his normal self, walking about with a broad grin on his face. Eventually he came to the dining hall, where a perpetual aroma of delightful scents continually flowed out, beckoning to each passerby that they should come and sate their desire on succulent dishes.

As he approached two guards appeared, dressed in the purple and black of the new royal guard, Jack's idea. They stepped from their positions at the base of the two pillars to open the door for him. He gave both a wide grin and a bow, thanking them for their kindness, the guards responded in kind and returned to their posts, letting the massive double doors slam shut behind him.

The delectable smell of tantalizing food was even stronger now that he had entered the room, and just as he had expected his friends were all here. Zuko and Mai sat together at the head of the table, enjoying small chatter. Suki and Sokka sat across from Katara and Toph; the first two where having heated words, their voices lowered in order not to attract attention.

Aang rolled his eyes; ever since the end of the war those two have not been able to keep out of each other's mugs. They always seemed to find something new to argue about, whether it was favorite dishes, personal clothing, or just opinions on the day, they always disagreed, which had already resulted in more than one altercation, none of them, thankfully, had gotten violent, yet.

Shifting his gaze, Aang looked over at Toph and Katara. Toph sat slouched in her seat, picking at a bowl of rice. Her hair sat about in her normal shaggy style she preferred, being adorned in her favorable earth kingdom wear, the only difference being the gold necklace with a green diamond resting in the center piece that she wore clasped about her neck, a present from Jack that she was loath to be departed from.

Katara was her normal, radiant self. Her hair was let down today, having been meticulously combed in such a manner to imitate a flowing river of silk. Her blue eyes sparkled in the company of her mother's betrothal necklace, an item she was rarely seen without. Her blue dress with white accents was simple, yet elegant, complementing her sinuous body. She was gorgeous; however, to him, Katara looked beautiful in everything. She could be wearing a sack and he would still find her the most beautiful person in the world. They said that love was blind.

He walked down towards the table, stopping to give Katara a kiss on the check as he took his seat beside her.

"How are you doing this morning?" He asked. Katara blushed at having been kissed, but quickly recovered.

"I'm doing great, I'm so excited for tonight, the festival is going to be great." He smiled even more.

"I know, I can't wait." He said.

"Well, I hope you wait long enough to try my cooking, it would really break my heart if I slaved away for nothing." Aang turned in his seat to see the burly form of Jack striding towards them, white apron on and steaming dishes in hand. His massive forearms barely wavered underneath the platter of dishes as he skillfully maneuvered across the floor, setting the platter down in front of Aang.

"Steamed rice, vegetables, and honey noodles, my own concoction." Aang looked dubiously at the bowl of noodles that sat before him. They sat in a simmering, golden broth, and did indeed seem enticing. A scrumptiously sweet odor rose out of it, inviting him to try it, but Aang knew better. While Jack was a great bender, friend, and cook, whenever he tried to introduce a new dish made from the confines of his imagination it seemed that they all got sick. Once when he thought that sugar-cane and rice could be combined with cherries the result was two days of unrelenting stomach cramps and a lot of unpleasant words towards Jack, who himself did not try any. Toph had gotten the worst of it, developing a fever and becoming delirious, revealing more than one embarrassing secret that they all swore never to reveal, especially to her. So, with that thought in mind, he looked over at Sokka, who was currently munching down on his breakfast with a substantial amount of contempt. Since he could not establish eye contact with Sokka, he turned to Katara and gave her a raised eyebrow. She smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up, showing him an empty bowl of what must have been Jack's noodles. No adverse side effects yet. Jack gave him a hardy smack on the back.

"Don't worry Aang, I tried them before dolling them out this time. There's nothing wrong with them, as far as I can tell." He turned back towards the kitchen, stopping to look back at Aang for a second. "Can I interest you in some orange-mango juice?" He asked. Aang, already consumed with his rice and vegetables, gave Jack a thumbs up. Jack laughed. "Alright then, just give me a few seconds." He disappeared through a door leading to the kitchen, the sound of bustling pans and simmering dishes emanating from the open door.

Aang watched as his friend disappeared into the kitchen, thinking back to the events leading to him being here. The last time he had seen Jack was when they were underneath Ba Sin Sey in the old capital, fighting Azula. Jack had dropped in on them, surprising them all. Confronting Azula he sounded enraged and set on killing her, something totally out of character for Jack, or at least he thought. He had tried to talk him down but something had happened while Jack was out and about by himself that had changed him, something terrible.

In the end Jack had not been reasonable and refused to listen to what Aang and Katara had to say. Against their wishes Jack had moved to kill Azula, who was trapped in his grasp. That was when Zuko had entered the scene. Shooting a fireball Zuko had nailed Jack straight in the back, taking him out. As Jack's body fell to the ground Aang had been certain that he was dead, and as the days past afterwards when he regained consciousness that view was only reinforced by what the others said.

However, as it turned out, Jack was not dead. Aang had learned from Zuko that Jack had survived and was taken back with the royals to the capital, where he was promptly tossed in jail. Apparently Azula had assigned the top doctors in the fire-nation to take care of him and eventually Jack regained his health, only to be prodded at by Azula. Zuko said that on the day of black sun he went back to the prison to try and rescue his uncle, but Iroh had already broken out. Aang had asked Zuko if he had checked Jack's cell as well, he had. And, as it so happened, it was empty as well. How Jack escaped, where he had gone, and what he did up to the final battle was all a mystery, and one that Jack was not willing to enlighten them about, as he staunchly opposed any and all questions about that time period. He told them he would tell them when he was ready. That was a month ago, apparently he was still not ready.

When Jack had first returned to them, three days after the final battle, he and Zuko had been at ends. Eventually they settled things though; by settle things Aang meant that they had duked it out with fists and bending until either one of them was a bloody pulp. Afterwards they seemed to be best friends, strangely enough, and now the two got along just fine. Apparently getting stabbed in the back was not that big of a deal.

Shanking off his thoughts of Jack, Aang returned his focusing to his friends, smiling at the thought of them all here with him, happy and safe. A long, drawn out sigh from Toph attracted his attention.

Well, almost everyone was happy. Toph let out another sigh, blowing her hair away from her eyes, though it did not do her any good. He turned, his mouth full of rice and surprisingly non-sickening noodles.

"What's the matter Toph?" He asked, trying to keep all the food in his mouth. Toph chased a few grains of rice around in her bowl with a set of chopsticks.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just feeling a bit down today, it's been rather slow lately." She gazed into her bowl, her unseeing eyes staring into a perpetual sea of darkness, doomed to the assiduous blackness that enveloped her in every waking moment. Aang looked at her with pity; something had been bugging her the last few days; she had not been her usual self. She seemed gloomy and forlorn, two epithets not usually used to describe the blind earth-bender. He set down his bowl, letting it clink against the table.

"You want to come with us tonight for the festival?" He asked. Katara choked on something behind him. Toph did not bother looking up.

"Naw, I think that I would just be a burden on you guys." She said. Aang persisted.

"No you wouldn't, we've always have a good time together, come on, it will be great! There's going to be traditional food, a lot of meat I would guess, there's going to be parades and floats and games and shows; it's going to be so much fun! We can go see the…" At this Aang trailed off, having used one of the forbidden verbs. Toph hardly seemed to notice, consumed with her melancholy.

"Thanks, but no thanks twinkle-toes. I think I'll find my own way of amusing myself for tonight if that's all right with you." Aang was disappointed, but he knew when Toph would not budge.

"All right." He said. A relieved sigh emanated from behind him. He turned and glared at Katara. She blushed, then hurriedly returned her attention to her breakfast.

Jack reentered the room, bringing Aang the promised glass of juice. He set it down before Aang, stopping to give his attention to Toph. He came over to her, squatting down to be at her level as she slouched in her chair. He exchanged a few soft whispers with her, obviously concerned. Toph responded in kind, turning her head just so slightly so as not to let anyone over hear. Jack laid his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner, then stood and walked over to Zuko. He leaned over and whispered in his ear, nodding over towards Toph. Zuko took a pause with Mai to look over at his little friend. He listened intently as Jack spoke to him, his tone hushed and impossible to hear over the din of noises in the room.

Aang looked at them curiously, wondering what it was that they were discussing. Soon Jack continued on, shaking hands with Zuko briefly before he left the dining hall through the front door. Zuko looked up at Toph once more, then turned his attention back to Mai, but not with the same ardent focus he had just a few moments ago. Aang's curiosity was piqued; what had been exchanged in that brief conversation?

This curiosity persisted through the rest of breakfast. However, as they began to finish their meals, he found himself consumed once again with Katara, and the possibilities of their future together. His thoughts sped away and soon Toph was nothing but a remote concern.

Slowly people began to leave, eventually leaving only Toph and Zuko in the room. Silence dominated, the only sound was that of the hurried feet of the servants retrieving dishes and the sound of pots and pans being scrubbed. Toph let out a sigh, looking blankly at the table. Zuko sat still, stroking his chin and trying to dismiss the butterflies in his stomach. Eventually Toph arose, silent. She began to move to the door. Zuko looked up, coming out of his stupor. He raised a hand, meaning to stop Toph, only realizing afterwards that a raise hand was not going to do anything.

"Toph." He said, his voice scratchy and faint. She stopped, not bothering to turn.

"Ya?" She replied in a flaccid manner. Zuko cleared his throat, tugging at his collar with a nervous hand.

"Please, sit down, I want to talk to you." Toph blew a strand of hair away from her face, a sign that she was not at all pleased with the current situation.

"You couldn't talk to me when I was already sitting?" She said, annoyance sinking into her voice. Zuko laughed, embarrassed.

"Sorry, I was just thinking of the right things to say."

Toph sighed and came over, plopping herself down in her seat, three chairs down from the head of the table. Zuko knew better than to push his luck with Toph, especially when she was in one of her vitriolic moods, she was likely to bite your head off at the slightest misconstrued phrase or action, especially if it had to deal with seeing anything. He stood up and walked over to the chair on Toph's right. He pulled it back and sat down, rubbing his sweaty palms together.

"What's up Sparky?" Asked Toph, taking a second to pick her teeth. Zuko stammered, searching for the right words.

"Well, uhmm, I really don't know how to start this." A panicked expression shot across Toph's face.

"You're not trying to express some undying love for me are you?" She said. Zuko sat back, his cheeks turning bright red.

"What? No… no, I'm not trying to hit on you." Toph blushed as well, turning away from Zuko.

"Good, because, no offense or anything, but you aren't really my type." Zuko gave a nervous chuckle.

"No, that's not it, I have Mai."

"And she is lovely." Replied Toph.

"Thanks." Responded Zuko, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No, uhmm, what I want to talk to you about has to do with that fieldtrip you wanted to go on." He said. Toph looked perplexed.

"Fieldtrip, what fieldtrip?"

"You know, the one on the beach, when Aang disappeared right before Sozin's comet?" It was Toph's turn to blush.

"Ohh, that one."

"Ya, that one." Said Zuko, rubbing his hands nervously. "I just thought that since everyone already has plans for the big autumn festival tonight that we could, you know, go on a little adventure." He said. Toph mulled things over for a moment; this could be her opportunity to get away from the source of her annoyance, she could do with a bit of adventure after the weeks of boredom and geniality. She sucked at the side of her cheek, taking a second to spit out a stray grain of rice.

"Will there be any fighting?" She asked. Zuko looked down at his feet, loath to say it to her face.

"More than likely." He said. A thought came to Toph.

"Why are you doing this Sparky? Is it because you think I need cheering up?" She said. Zuko took a risk and decided to be honest.

"Yes, I think you do need to be cheered up. You've been really gloomy lately, and I think that you've been cooped up too long. It's time that you got out, and I think that it will do us some good to have some quality time together." Toph was skeptical.

"But what about Mai?" She said. Zuko shrugged his shoulders.

"She understands, I think she's making plans with Ty-Lee anyways." Toph persisted, trying to find a chink in the armor.

"What about your fire-lord duties? Surely they aren't just going to let you go tramping around the country side when you've got big-wig things to take care of?"

"I'm the fire-lord, they better let me do as I please" Said Zuko, then on a more serious note. "Besides my Uncle is here for the festival, I'm sure that he wouldn't mind taking over for a day or two." Toph raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"A day or two, where exactly are we going?" She asked. A sly grin cracked across Zuko's face. "Well now, that would be telling."

* * *

The dank stone dripped with water and moss, being neglected and forlorn from any source of care. A fetid stench rose up from the ground, permeating the air and causing many to turn back then and there. If one persisted and carried on they could expect to encounter ghoulish screams of insanity, mindless mumbling, and horrific eyes, large, unrelenting, and dejected. They would stare at you from every corner, through bars and windows. They followed your every step, their nervous twitching creating the sensation of movement, yet they rested still, unblinking, and unseeing. They stared at you, but they did not see, merely a shade passing through their turbulent reality. The dissolution of the mind is a terrible thing.

Through this sea of ambivalence traversed a dark figure, clothed in a black hood and cape. Heavy boots clunked across the stone, and a dull light shone out from an old lantern, cracked and splintered. He walked cautiously, staying exactly in the middle of the hall. Rotten hands shot out from the bars, reaching for him. He moved on, staying out of their reach, squashing the urge to stop and try to help these poor souls. He knew that no matter what he did they would still be lost in a world that he would never know, they would not return. The figure continued down to the end of the hall, pulling up in front of a solid steel door. Black scorch marks burst out from the cracks, marking the walls; someone had been trying to blast their way out.

The figure inserted a key into the lock, turning it slowly. The gears grinded at the turn, refusing to be budged, but they clicked open none the less. A steady hand reached out and grasped the handle, turning it with only the slightest pause. The door opened with a noisy creak, char falling off the hinges. The figure stepped in, bringing the door almost completely shut, leaving only a slight crack behind him.

The cell, unlike the other putrid filth piles, was actually well furbished, or at least it had been. It had drapes, chairs, a table, a desk, and even a queen sized bed, adorned with silk sheets. Everything, however, was tossed about. The drapes were burnt, the chairs shattered; the desk and table had scorch marks streaked across it. The walls, once painted and clean, now resembled that of a battlefield, fire burnt across in every conceivable angle. The only thing that remained completely intact was the bed. The red silk sheets sat perfectly folded, not a speck of dust resting on them. The pillows remained fluffed and in their proper positions. The wood frame was spared the fury that had stricken the rest of the room like some crazed carouse. Its bronze lacquer shone dimly in the light of a candle that sat in the middle of the room.

"Come to see the animal again?" The voice was sadistic and cold. A figure moved slowly from the corner, rising into the light.

Azula stood at the edge of the candlelight, nefarious and pernicious, even within her cage. Her calm demeanor was accompanied with her perfect apparel. A red dress, emblazoned with gold thread, ran down to her ankles, clinging tightly to her, revealing her sinuous body. A dragon swirled about her chest, emerald eyes peering out of the gloom. Long sleeves covered her hands, exposing only her nails, which shone with and ardent red polish that was more dastardly than soothing on her. Her hair, as usual, was perpetual perfection, rivaling that of no one. She had brushed it down, straight and smooth. It was lush and rich, the color, or lack of it, seeming to radiate with alluring calls. A gold flower sat in it, shining dimly in the candlelight, rubies sparkling harshly in the petals. Her face was bare of any makeup save that of her lips, which shined bright with a deep crimson hue, contrasting her brilliant golden eyes. She stood elegant and proud, not letting her surroundings bring down her prestigious aura. The guest lowered his hood, revealing Jack's face, calm yet sad. Azula laughed, a caustic and harsh noise.

"You never cease to amaze me, street rat. Even now you come to nibble at my majesty. Well, come on, have your fill." Azula shot a bolt of blue flame at the candle, brightening the room. She stepped up, lifting her hands in a delicate manner. She turned slowly, allowing Jack to see every sumptuous curve of her body, daring him, goading him. Jack stared without blinking, a mélange of hatred and sorrow stricken across his face. Her amorous behavior was not new to him, but this was something else. Never before had she been so tempting, so ardent, so divine. Yet even with her fey appearance, surpassing that of the goddesses of old, she could not take away her insidious personality that daunted her with every step. Every action was a plot, every movement a ploy. Always she schemed, always she manipulated, and always she competed, trying to dominate all who she came into contact with, and even those she did not.

"You look enchanting, as always." Said Jack. A smug smile spread across Azula's face.

"Of course I do." She said, setting herself delicately on her bed, crossing her legs. "Just because my brother stuck me in the nut-house doesn't mean that I can't stay dignified. I will not sacrifice my high-society status, even while in prison." Jack rolled his eyes.

"As pretentious as always I see." He said, sitting down cross-legged and leaning up against the wall. Azula frowned.

"It's not being pretentious if it's true." She said. "That's what you said." She continued, a sneer on her face. Jack shook his head.

"I was referring to the Creator. There's a big difference between you and the Creator, Azula. He has all power, you do not. You may think you control everything, but it's simply not true." Azula's eyes grew wide, the pupils expanding to cover the whole of the iris.

"I did control everything!" She spat, standing up. "Everything was beneath my fingertips, the world was mine to command; then Zuko came with his merry band of fools and ruined everything!" Blue tendrils curled around her finger tips as her ire slowly rose. "I had everything, everything I could have dreamed of; power, servants, wealth, and an army to do my biding. It's all gone now, all because Zuko betrayed me!" Her eyes narrowed and zeroed in on Jack. "You betrayed me." She hissed menacingly.

Within those few simple moments Azula had totally transformed from the dignified yet pernicious royal to a crazed and hackneyed inmate. Her eyes bounced around, not taking a moment to rest. Her dress, which before had seemed regal and elegant, now seem dull and ragged, a mockery to true apparel. Her face, which before was radiant, was now mottled and crazed, revealing one who lacked sufficient control. She shook with tremors, her whole body desiring to attack. The flames that had started as small tendrils now burst into bloom, engulfing her hands and singeing her dress.

She had revealed her true self; the calm and prestigious façade had fallen away to show the wretched and villainess person beneath, the one whom many feared, but few loved. Jack shook his head slowly, wishing he could take back his words. He always had a knack for setting her off, and now, with her in such a fragile state, it seemed sadistic and cruel to do it to her, reducing her to such a shell of her former self.

Jack sat and watched as she began ragging about her cell, casting fire all around her. Blue fireballs shattered against the walls, cascading to the floor in a shower of sparks. She yelled and stomped, hitting everything in the cell save two things; her bed, and him. There were no bars or walls to shield him from her furry, and there were no guards in wait to spring into action and subdue her if she should turn her wrath on him. It could have been totally possible that she would strike at him, overpower him, and escape out of her cell. However, even if she did it would be futile. There were so many locked doors and barred ways that none could get through them. Each one had a different key and a different guard standing at the post. If the guard should be overcome somehow by one of the inmates the prisoner would merely find themselves locked in with nowhere to go but towards the heart of the prison, which ended at Azula's cell.

Jack could not say whether it was because she knew of this fact or that she did not want to harm him anymore that she did not attempt to assail him. He liked to think it was the later.

Even if she did try to attack him, he was not completely defenseless, their fights had gone either way in the past but he felt assured that in her current state Azula did not stand a chance to overcome him, and so he sat, calmly and patiently, waiting for Azula's furry to subside. Eventually she began to regain control; her anger abated her and she stood still, her back to Jack. Her shoulders rose and fell softly, her body wearied from her outburst.

She took in a deep breath, straightening her dress. She returned to her seat, sitting down and crossing her legs.

"Sorry about that, just a temporary thing." She said, without a trace of insanity. Jack smiled.

"Don't worry about it, I know what it's like to be crazy." He said.

"Yes, so it would seem. So, tell me darling, why is it you choose to come here, after everything that has transpired between us. If I remember right the last time we met outside caged walls you were holding a knife to my throat." She said. Jack nodded his head.

"Ya, sorry about that. I wasn't…me." He said. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"You weren't you, well then who were you, the avatar?" She said, laughing caustically. Jack shook his head.

"You know what I mean Azula. You had broken me, you won. I wasn't anything like I used to be, and we both knew it, but I'm back now, and I'm not going to give up again." He said. Azula looked at a painted nail.

"Is that so, and what exactly are you not going to give up this time?"

"You." He replied simply. Azula laughed.

"Really, is that your play? Trying to reclaim the past are we? Well then, by all means go ahead, do your best."

* * *

Aang paced about the halls, seeking for anything to occupy his mind. Katara had disappeared into her room right after lunch, leaving him to find something to do. When he asked her why it was she was locking herself in her room she merely responded that it was a surprise. He had responded back by saying that he did not like surprises; Katara shut the door in his face.

He had spent the first half an hour or so trying to peek through the lock in the door or the crack at the bottom of it, but that attempt was soon thwarted when Suki walked up, in a foul mood, and gave him a kick to the ribs, telling him to stop being such a pervert. Deciding that it was wise to listen to her warning he had quickly abandoned the area of the palace, loath to incur her wrath again, lest he receive another blow.

His first thought was to go and see Sokka, but since the cause of Suki's vitriolic mood was more than likely Sokka he decided not to go and find him, as he blamed Sokka for his now bruised ribs. His next thought was to go and find Toph, but as he searched throughout the grounds it quickly became apparent that she was not around either.

He then tried to see if Mai or Ty-Lee wanted to do something, but they had to prepare their big circus act they had tonight, so that idea was shot down. He now wondered about the halls in desperation, seeking anything to palliate his boredom.

While pacing about, hands in pockets, he ran into Sokka, literally. Sokka was sprinting down the hall, trying to get away from something. He rounded the corner, and crashed directly into Aang. The two fell down in a mass of tangled arms and legs. Aang grunted, pushing Sokka away from him.

"Sokka, what in the world are you doing?!" Aang demanded. Sokka stood up hurriedly, got his foot stuck under Aang's leg, and fell over again. Aang shot Sokka away with a blast of airbending. He stood up, wiping away the imaginary dust that had accumulated on his clothing, as the palace was kept so clean that the average life span of a piece of dust was about two and a half seconds.

"What in heaven's name are you doing Sokka?" He asked as Sokka stood up again, looking over his shoulder to where he had come. Aang froze as a poignant cry permeated the air. Toph in rage.

"Who's the bozo that took my necklace?!" Aang looked back down the hall, terror swallowing him whole. Sokka came over and pushed something into his hands and took off down the hall, his feet a blinding flurry. Aang felt his heart stop as the sound of gold clinked in his hands. He looked slowly down to the thing that Sokka had left in his hands; Toph's gold necklace.

The only thing that was missing was the green diamond that usually sat in the center with an inscription that sat around it reading, _Toph Bei Fong, Best Earthbender Ever!_ Aang's eye twitched as he realized what Sokka had done. He had taken the diamond and left him with just the necklace. Now if Toph caught him with only the necklace she would beat the pulp out of him for not having the diamond. Then again she might just beat him up anyways, to the sound of his pleas and cries of innocence.

Toph rounded the corner, her hair dripping wet and a towel thrown around her; apparently she had been taking a bath when Sokka had stolen the necklace. Good plan, must have made too much noise though.

Her unseeing eyes turned on Aang as her feet came into effect, freezing him to the spot.

"Twinkle-toes." She hissed between her gritted teeth. "I should have known better." She began marching over to him, the earth beneath him quaking with every step. He quickly decided, probably against better judgment, that his best option was to run for it.

Aang turned and fled down the hall as quickly as his feet and airbending could take him, leaving a fuming Toph to follow in hot pursuit. Boulders began to wiz past his head as he ran down the straightest hall he had ever seen. He bobbed and weaved from side to side, allowing Toph to catch up but presenting her with a more difficult target. He had almost gotten away when he felt something snag on his foot.

Aang fell to the ground with a cry, tumbling and letting the necklace slide across the floor, going all the way to the end of the hall where it stopped. He shook his dazed head, trying to focus. He looked back at the gaining Toph, then over to where the necklace was. A grinning face met his glance as Sokka bent over and picked up the necklace, quickly fleeing down the hall.

Aang looked back down the hall; a wire was set up low so that he would trip. Sokka had set him up again! What this was all accomplishing he had no idea but it certainly was working, Toph was gaining fast.

Aang closed his eyes, bracing himself for the end, but it never came. Toph cried out and fell to the ground with a thunderous crash, sliding up to where he was laying. She had tripped over the wire too. Her cheeks turned fiery red as she looked over at him.

"YOU…Are going…to DIE…Twinkle-toes." Aang could not tell whether she was pausing for the dramatic effect or because she was trying to regain lost oxygen but he did not stick around to find out. He quickly leapt to his feet and shot away from Toph's death-grip.

Aang looked back to see Toph rolling to her feet, setting after him at a dead sprint. A thought suddenly occurred to him. _Why was Toph taking a bath? She never takes baths._ Another thought popped in his head. _Wow, that towel is really staying on._

His thoughts were interrupted as a rock clipped him in the ear. He spun, fell to the ground, rolled, and got back to his feet, barely losing a step. He sped as fast as he could, but even with airbending he could hardly keep his ground with Toph behind him.

As the next endless straight hallway came to an end Aang looked around for another trip wire, but this time there was none. He figured that his best bet was to go for the garden, then make a round out into the streets, hopefully Toph would be self-conscious enough not to go out while only wearing a towel. A boulder zipped past his head. Hopefully, but not likely.

Aang reached the door and leapt straight out, flying through the doorway. Something whirled through the air and when he hit the ground his ankles were caught and tied together. He fell to the ground for the third time in as many minutes. He landed this time not on some hard slab of stone though, but rather a nice soft, slurpy pool of mud.

Aang landed with a splosh, mud covering his face as he went in head first. He slowly pushed himself up out of the mud, his head snapping back as the mud relinquished its oozing hold. The thick liquid slowly dripped down his face, cool and slimy. He scraped away the mud around his eyes, knowing what he would see.

Sokka stood behind a rose-bush, laughing so hard that he was crying. Aang tried standing up, but he lost his balance and fell on his back. He stared at the sky, his will to fight quickly abating. The sound of Toph's angered cry, however, reinvigorated him to move like the wind. He reached down and tried to untangle the weighted ropes about his ankles, but it was too late. Toph was charging straight through the door in a blind furry, and she was on a direct collision course with him. He reached up a hand, forgetting at the moment it would not do any good.

"Toph wait, don't…!" It was too late. Toph launched herself into the air at Aang, extending her arms to grab him with a howl of rage, a predator coming in for the kill. She crashed into him like an angry komodo-rhino, sending them back into the mud with an explosion that would make a firebender amped up on Sozin's comet ashamed. Mud flew in every direction, splattering the pathway and back into the palace, right across the marble floor, where it lasted about three seconds before a servant cleaned it up. Sokka hid behind his rose-bush until the mud had ceased flying through the air, then he peaked out and started rolling on the ground with laughter.

Toph was currently pounding Aang into the mud with her bare hands, not even bothering to use her bending. Aang flailed about, trying to escape her grasp, but every time he almost crawled out she would grab him and drag him screaming back into the mud. The towel kept its vivacious grip.

"Stay still and take your beating like an earthbender." Said Toph as she wailed on Aang.

"It wasn't me Toph! I swear it wasn't me!" Said Aang, trying to fend off the blows. Toph grabbed him by the collar and jerked him up to her face.

"Then who was it Twinkle-toes?" Snarled Toph. Aang about passed out from fear right then and there. He pointed a shaky hand over at Sokka, who was currently rolling on the ground holding his stomach, howling with laughter. Toph turned her head to where Sokka rolled around, though she did not need to, it was just something to keep up appearances in public. Sokka realized that Toph had paused, and so carefully opened an eye, looking over at the mud hole. What he saw just put him back into more fits of laughter.

Toph and Aang stood in the mud ankle deep, well at least Toph. Aang floated just above the puddle, Toph holding him up with just one arm. A look of absolute fear could be seen through the thick layer of mud plastered on his face as he pointed over to the culprit. Toph now looked over at him, her once clean body now covered completely in a dark layer of mud. Sokka knew that he was in for it but he did not care, he would enjoy his triumph before his beating. He had played that perfectly.

Originally his whole plan was just to steal Toph's necklace and lead her on a wild goose-horse chase around the palace, using what traps he needed to slow her down until he could reach outside where she would have fallen into the mud hole, allowing him to make his getaway into town. Running into Aang, however, put an entirely new spin on his plan. He could now pin the blame on Aang, as he would leave Aang and Toph to fight it out it in the mud while he slipped into Aang's room and left the necklace on his bed. The later part of his plan, however, did not come into fruition, as he got too caught up with the ebullient joy of seeing his plan carried out with such success that he just rolled on the ground laughing, leaving himself fully exposed to the wrath of Toph, something he was already too acquainted with.

Toph dropped Aang in the mud with a cry, stalking over to where Sokka was. He crawled back on all fours, taking a pause to hold up his hands.

"Now Toph, you can't prove that it was me who did that." The sound of her necklace jingling in his hand reminded him of how absurd that argument was. He kept backing up while Toph came at him, her frustration producing waves that rolled off her. He bumped up against a cherry tree, this was the end.

"You got to admit, it was funny." He said, smiling and cringing at the same time. He held out the necklace, which Toph promptly snatched out of his hand. She turned around and started walking away.

Sokka laid his head back and let out a sigh of relief. A pillar of earth shot out of the ground, sending him flying into the mud hole. Three earthen ribs came up and cinched tight, holding him in the mud. He wiggled and tried to get free but it was no use. Aang plopped by him, his feet sloaking through the mud. Sokka looked up at him with his best smile.

"Hey Aang, how about you be a friend and help me out huh?" Aang looked at him for a second and thought about it. He decided it would be funnier to kick mud in his face, so he did. He walked inside with a smile on his face as Sokka groaned and whined, spitting mud out of his mouth. Toph as well, though the target of Sokka's scheme, walked back to the bath house with a grin on her face, towel still attached. It was nice having morons for friends, they kept you on your toes.


	2. The Birds and the Bees

**Warning! Chapter contains sex talk! No acts actually take place, but the birds and the bees are told to Aang! Read at your own discretion. **

**Chapter II**

Aang promptly cleaned up and made himself ready for the evening. It took him over an hour, as well as fierce scrubbing in every place conceivable, and a few inconceivable places; bending could only go so far. When he finally was squeaky clean he dried off and threw on a robe that Zuko had tailored for him. He looked in the mirror, impressed.

The main part of the robe glowed with a golden hue, offset by a deep blue stripe running down across his chest. A blend of Air nation as well as Water-tribe symbols danced about the robe, marking his relationship with Katara. Gold thread ran along the sleeves, which were capped with blue sapphires. The rest of the outfit ran similar to that design, Air-nomad gold offset by Water-tribe blue. The outfit was completed with a dazzling gold sash that he tied about his waist. He felt the sash, running his hands gingerly through the soft thread; it was actually woven from gold. It was a good thing he was the avatar, otherwise he might be mugged for his outfit tonight. To be honest with himself he thought that the whole outfit was a bit extravagant for a humble Air-nomad, but as Jack had said before. _Do not reject a gift for it is from the kindness of the heart and a blessing from the Creator; do not presume that you are a better person just because you reject riches. _

Aang almost laughed out loud. Ever since the war had ended Jack had become a proverb book of sorts, offering sage advice to anyone who would listen, and even those who would not. Whatever he had done for the back half of the war seemed to have made him into an Uncle Iroh of sorts.

With that thought in mind Aang walked out the door, hoping that it was time to go see Katara.

He walked past her room and ventured to knock on the door, but when an exasperated Suki answered she told him to bug off until Katara opened the door herself. With that in mind he walked away, going to see if Sokka was still there. Sure enough, there he was, clear as, well… mud.

"You're still stuck there?" Asked Aang, surprised. Toph turned to greet him, sitting next to Sokka on the nice clean grass.

"He still hasn't learned his lesson." She said, a sinister smile on her face. Sokka giggled, dried mud caked on his face. His fingers wiggle weakly underneath the mud, making small slurping noises.

"It was totally worth it." He said. Aang looked over at Toph, who was actually clean for once and adorned in her usual earthbender wear. The soft smell of peaches floated on the breeze. He lifted an eyebrow.

"Toph, did you use peach wash?" He asked. Sokka's face immediately dropped as he shook his head vigorously at Aang. Aang only realized his mistake when Toph narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ya, so what if I did?" She said gruffly. Aang put a hand behind his head, his cheeks blushing from fear.

"Nothing, I just thought that I smelled peaches or something." He said, scooting back slowly. Toph turned her gaze back to Sokka, apparently not willing to get herself worked up over the subject.

"Whatever Twinkle-toes. Why don't you go bug someone else for a while? Sokka still has to learn his lesson." With that Toph bended a ball of mud straight into Sokka's face, causing him to cough and hack. A sly grin still stretched across his face, however.

"It was still worth it." He said through the mud. That got him another one to the face. Aang walked back into the palace, avoiding the splatter of mud that followed him. He did not want to be Sokka at the moment. Come to think of it, he never wanted to be Sokka, who in their right mind would?

Aang slowly made his way back to Katara's room, not wanting to run into Suki but still drawn over there by the amorous desire to see his beauty. Eventually his love won over and he walked over to her room, this time taking a seat across the hall. He sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, waiting for someone to open the door.

After what felt like an hour, but what was probably just a few minutes, the door opened. His heart leapt into his mouth as it flew away gracefully, revealing the form of an ever perturbed Suki. His countenance quickly fell, much to the annoyance of Suki.

"Don't worry lover boy, she's almost done. Where's dunderhead?" She asked. By that Aang figured she meant Sokka.

"He's in the garden with Toph." He said. Suki's eyes narrowed.

"Ohh is he now?" That laconic phrase sowed seeds of terror into Aang's heart, then again it seemed that everything scared him. He was a lot jumpier than usual, which was completely uncalled for. They had beaten the Fire-Lord, Zuko was now the new one, and he was about to go out on his first real date with Katara, what was wrong with him? Everything lately had filled him with misgivings, foul portents lay behind every corner. He felt as if some sort of doom was going to befall them, but he did not know what, maybe he needed a session with Doctor Fire, Sokka's psychiatrist persona.

Then again with the look that sat on Suki's face Aang seriously doubted that Sokka would be doing much of anything tonight. Suki walked away, her heels clicking harshly across the marble floor. He watched her as she disappeared around the corner, letting out a long sigh of relief. He did not know what it was but Suki and Sokka had been in a perpetual argument ever since they actually had time to spend together, and it was getting on everyone else's nerves.

Aang's thoughts on Suki quickly evaporated, however, as Katara's door clicked. His head snapped around, his eyes staring at the door with an ardent passion. It slowly started to open, quietly, on well-oiled hinges. For a moment he thought that his mind was slowing it down, but then he realized that it was actually opening really slowly.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, standing up. "No fair!" A giggle emanated from behind the door.

"Alright Aang, but you have to promise not to faint." Aang tried to sound manly, but it came out more comical than masculine.

"Alright." Katara giggled again, making him blush.

The door, as promised, open at a nice normal rate, giving Aang plenty of time to let his mouth drop, which he promptly did. Katara stood before him in a brilliant blue and gold dress, a match to his own outfit. Blue sapphires created the Water-tribe symbol on the right side of her chest, with a splash of gold behind it. Fine gold thread marked out the Air-nomad symbol on the left side of her chest with blue as the backdrop. The dress ran all the way down to her ankles, sparkling white silk complementing her rich, dark skin. The sleeves were loose, a mélange of gold and sapphire blue running down them to the white silk at the end. A simple sliver ring with a blue diamond sat on Katara's right hand, her mother's necklace clasped elegantly about her neck. Her hair was let down, flowing down like a waterfall into a sea of rich, curly, chocolate froth. He blinked at his minds description. Chocolate froth? Well, he did think she was really sweet. A plain gold clip sat in her hair, dotted with sapphires. Her brilliant blue eyes sparkled, a waft of sweet honey floating on the breeze. She smiled with a blush, seeing his enamored stare. She cleared her throat.

"So…uhmm…how do I look?" She asked. A tender smile came to Aang's face. He stepped up and kissed her on the lips, soft and gently, the warmth from their mouths igniting the air. He pulled back to see Katara's blushing face.

"You look perfect." He said, offering her his hand. Katara took it delicately, a smile spreading across her lips.

"Let's go." She said. Aang smiled and started walking down the hall, Katara by his side. A thought suddenly occurred to him. He checked just to make sure. _Katara was taller than him._

* * *

Jack sat languidly against the wall, having stayed in the cell all day, watching Azula. After her outburst she had became forlorn, moping about the cell, muttering to herself, ignoring him as if he was not present. She spoke of the injury that had been inflicted upon her, betrayed by those closest to her, and how she would exact retribution, all in painfully clear detail. She paced and wringed her hands, her eyes darting about the cell. Twice she had kick the candle over, swearing at it and cursing it for betraying her as well. She then proceeded in her scheming in the dark until she became aware of the bleak cell around her, bringing her back to the candle and lighting it with a snap of her thumb.

Jack watched everything with a vacant stare, seeming not to notice any of Azula's antics. The only thing that betrayed him was the slight shift in his eyes and tightening of his neck muscles as he battled off ambivalent feelings that choked him and wet his eyes.

At long last he grew weary of watching her, figuring that she would not make any progress today, just as every other time he had come. He did not give up hope, however, for the hope of redemption was all that he had for Azula, and himself, not after everything he had done, and everything she had done. He shook his head, two devils in the same room. If it had been up to a court with all of their deeds laid out bare they would have both been at the gallows within the day. However, that was not how it played out, so now they both had to live with their nightmares.

Jack stood up flaccidly, grunting as his stiff legs received circulation. Azula froze, seeming to remember that someone else was in the cell with her. She turned her malevolent eyes on the intruder, taking a step towards him.

"You." She hissed softly. Jack looked up, surprised that Azula was acknowledging him now after the hours he had spent watching her. Azula took another step towards him.

"Why do you persist in coming here? Is it because you like the company? The loons do seem to match your personality, they all are capricious and follow their every whim." Jack ground his teeth, knowing where she was going with this conversation. Every part of him wanted to lash out, to strike her down before she had a chance to really get started, but he had to show restraint and love if he ever wanted to help her.

"Azula, just don't, not today." He said. Azula grinned cynically, ignoring his warning and proceeding forth.

"So, how long did it take you to betray me? Did you ponder upon it for days on end, thinking of what it would do? Or did she merely bat her lashes at you to make you fall head over heels for her."

"I did not love her, not like that. She was like a sister to me." Said Jack, trying to control his rising choler. Azula knew she had struck a delicate cord.

"Ohh really? Well then why did you cry so much after she was gone? Did you miss her sinuous body? Those lushes curves and slim figure; surely they got your heart racing every time you saw her." Jack wanted to shut his eyes, to block out the images flashing before his mind, to forget about Azula, but he knew that if he did he might miss something, Azula might try and pull a fast one, and even though she had nowhere to go he did not put it past her; in her current condition she was liable to do anything. He should have never remembered.

"It was such a shame when she died, calling out for you and her brother; I think she expected you two to save her." Jack's knuckles creaked as he balled them into fists. Azula took another step closer.

"I really didn't want to do it, but you two left me no choice. You would not come out, so I had to take drastic measures." A tear began to snake down Jack's face, invisible in the gloom.

"You didn't have to kill her!" He said, shaking with rage. Azula took another step closer, sinister thoughts racing through her mind.

"You made me do it." She said. "You betrayed your nation, you turned your back on us, you chose to let her die." During the time after his second escape from prison Jack had worked a lot on his patience and self-restraint, following the loving code of his new faith, but there were certain buttons that if one pressed correctly would bring out the monster within him. Azula knew exactly what to say, and she did it with such assiduous application that it cracked through his calm demeanor, releasing the caged beast.

Jack howled out in rage, shooting two massive white flames at Azula. Azula's eyes widened with shock; she had miscalculated the severity of his reaction. She tried to protect herself, jabbing a stiff finger at the center of the flames to split it around her, but the force of his blast was too much and she flew back, slamming against the wall with a loud thud. Azula lay on the ground, trying to regain her breath. Jack took a step towards her, fear and shame flashing across his face. He reached down to help Azula up, but she struck his hand, a fierce and wild look in her eyes.

"Don't touch me street-rat!" She said, spitting in his face. Jack stepped back, tears flowing down his face.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Azula stood up, her side bruised.

"You didn't hurt me you pathetic wretch! Now get out of here, my patience is at its end and I will not suffer your company any longer!" Jack reached out a hand, but Azula turned away. Enraged and ashamed, he walked slowly to the door, grabbing his lantern on the way out. He paused as he walked out, wanting to look back, but not daring to, lest he allow himself to make another blunder. He closed the door behind him, letting it clang shut leaving Azula to stand in the bleak gloom, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Nothing would ever go right for them.

* * *

Aang and Katara were in the vestibule to the palace, waiting for the others to be ready. Mai and Ty-Lee were already there, chatting away, well, at least Ty-Lee was. She was very excited that Mai and she were going to perform together, and though she would never admit it the slightest gleam of a smile could be seen on Mai's face, betraying her own excitement. Sokka and Suki were there as well; evidently Suki had managed to negotiate Sokka's release, for what price Aang did not have the slightest clue, but it seemed as if Sokka and Suki were actually enjoying themselves together. Sokka had cleaned himself up at an astounding rate, making himself not only presentable but also fairly graceful, being adorned in nice outfit that he had received from his father. It was an old water-tribe suit, blue and white with fur in plenty. Suki had dressed in an all blue dress to match Sokka, simple yet elegant, a pearl necklace clasped about her neck. Currently the two were in each other's arms, giggling and exchanging quick pecks. Aang nudged Katara and pointed at Sokka. She smiled.

"It's nice to see that those two are finally getting along, for the longest time I thought they were going to kill each other." Aang nodded in agreement.

"Ya, I didn't think it was going to last, but now I think they might actually make it. Hopefully it was just a rough patch." He said, glad that Sokka was finally happy. He wondered what had caused such a dramatic change in their attitudes towards each other. Perhaps it was Suki seeing Sokka in the mud, it could have brought back their fun sides. He shrugged his shoulders, at least they were getting along now.

Aang looked around at the rest of the hall. He spotted Toph sitting alone on a bench, her tongue stuck out at the sight, or rather sound, of Sokka and Suki. He giggled; Toph still had some growing to do before she found that appealing. He paused for a moment. Then again, knowing Toph, she probably would never find that appealing. He laughed quietly to himself at the thought, thinking himself a witty guy. Katara raised an eyebrow but did not bother asking what he found so amusing, there were some things best left unknown, especially if it came from Aang's head.

Eventually Zuko entered the hall. He walked over to Mai and gave her a kiss, bringing a smile to her face. He spoke quietly to her for a few moments, seeming to confer something. Mai nodded her head, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He then gave Ty-Lee a hug, wishing her good luck. As he came over to them, Aang was surprised to see that Zuko was not dressed up at all, but rather he was wearing his traveling gear. Zuko walked up to them, trying to suppress a smile.

"You two look great." He said, giving each a hug. Katara raised another eyebrow.

"Why are you so happy?" She asked, a bit disturbed. "Sokka didn't give you his cactus juice did he?" Sokka cried out indignantly from across the hall, having heard Katara's rather loud declaration. Zuko turned red, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No, I just have had a pretty good idea, and I feel kinda giddy." Aang nodded his head.

"I know what you mean sifu hotman." He said. A frown came back to Zuko's lips, resembling his usual gloomy nature.

"I told you to stop calling me that." He said. Aang smiled.

"Sorry Mr. Fire-Lord." Zuko groaned, obviously determining that he was not going to win this conversation with Aang.

"Anyways." He said, moving on. "I just wanted to wish you guys a happy night." He said. Aang and Katara looked perplexed.

"Why, are you not coming with us?" They asked. The original plan for the night was for everyone to start out together, going to see Ty-Lee and Mai's show, then splitting up and going their separate ways for a while (this is where Aang's proposed invitation to Toph had taken place) until they all met up again for dessert. Apparently Zuko had changed plans on them and had not bothered telling them.

"No." He said, turning red. "I have other plans for the night." Aang raised his eyebrow.

"Like what?" He asked. Zuko rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, uhmm, Toph and I were going to go have a little fieldtrip together, you know, get some bonding time." Aang looked at Katara, trying to hide his shock.

"A field trip?" Said Katara, befuddled. Fire-Lords did not simply go on field trips, and Zuko did not try to have 'bonding time' with anyone, for that matter neither did Toph. The whole situation seemed rather ridiculous.

"Ya." Said Zuko. "I kinda owe her one, you know because everyone else got to go on fieldtrips with me." Aang nodded his head; he had gone and visited the sun warriors where they learned the origins of firebending, Sokka and he had gone to the boiling rock and saved his father and Suki, and Katara had gone with him to find the man responsible for her mother's death. The only one out of their group who had not gone on a life changing trip with Zuko was Toph. Evidently that was about to change.

Katara was still a bit leery about the whole idea, her maternal instincts kicking in.

"I don't know Zuko, Toph hasn't been herself lately, I think she needs some time to rest." At this comment Toph perked up in the corner, having overheard Katara. Her cheeks turned an incredulous red as she heard Katara baby her. She was tempted to walk over and smack the nosey water-tribe girl in the back of the head, but that would upset Twinkle-toes, and Toph for once did not want to ruin his day. So, instead, Toph sat silent, stewing as Katara kept protesting to Zuko's idea.

"I just think that she's been through a lot lately and that it might be too overwhelming for her." Zuko tried to remain calm, but he obviously was irritated with Katara's incessant looming.

"Katara, look, we appreciate the concern, but I think that Toph can decide for herself what she wants to do, and she wants to get away for a while, I promise that she will come back in one piece." Zuko looked over at Toph, who was currently frowning at him with a glare that would have curdled fresh dairy. Zuko cringed.

"What about you?" Asked Aang. Zuko looked at Toph's hauteur, then back at Aang and Katara.

"That I can't guarantee." He said, lowering his voice. Toph leaned forward, trying to catch that last part. Aang and Katara looked at each other, befuddled. They looked back at Zuko.

"Alright, I guess neither of you are children."

"We sure ain't Sugar-Queen!" Yelled Toph, bringing all other conversations to a halt. Katara blushed, embarrassed.

"Sorry Toph." She said. Toph merely harrumphed and looked away. Zuko twiddled his fingers together.

"There's one last thing." He said.

"What is it?" Asked Aang. Zuko looked around, not sure how to put it.

"I'm going to borrow Appa for a while." Aang opened his mouth, ready to protest, but Katara put a hand over his mouth.

"Alright, just take care of him." She said. Zuko bowed, turning and walking away. Toph stood up, walking glumly behind him. Sokka and Suki were kissing when she walked by; she punched Sokka in the kidney and broke it up.

Aang stared after Zuko and Toph, then over at Katara, then back at Zuko and Toph.

"Why'd you do that!?" He said. Katara shrugged her shoulders.

"You would have just argued with him, and I really just want to get on with our night." She said. Aang's face was troubled as he watched the two walk away. Katara noticed it, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Appa is a ten-ton flying bison, I think that he can take care of himself." She said. Aang looked unsure, but the time to leave was quickly approaching. The others began to mull about, slowly making their way to the front door. He looked once more to where Zuko and Toph had disappeared, then back at Katara.

The front doors opened, allowing a cool, gentle breeze to blow in. The breeze caught Katara's hair, making it float with an amorous air. Aang was smitten, and slowly he began to walk towards her outstretched hand. He reached out, grabbing it tenderly. The warm tingling feeling of her silky skin against his sent a jolt through his system. He smiled, half to himself and half at Katara. With her by his side, nothing could go wrong.

* * *

The sun set down in the sky, casting out warm glowing rays of light. The clouds alighted in orange and pink, a soft and friendly glow emanating in their cotton folds. Down below lights dotted the countryside, marking out small villages and farmhouses. Zuko sighed as he watched the rolling hills. This was his nation, this was his country, and now it was his responsibility to rule. He was filled with love for his country, and a fierce desire to protect his citizens.

Jack had warned him that things were not going to go over easy with Ozai being replaced, not everyone in the fire-nation hated him, and not all the nations were all that comfortable with someone from the same line taking over afterwards. Jack said that they would be leery of him, suspecting him to take up where his father left off. He shook his head; there was no way he would follow in his father's footsteps, and to make sure of it he was going to try and change his ways. That was why he had agreed to Jack's request; that was why he was now out here with the blind earthbender, because his father would not be.

Zuko looked over at his friend, empathy welling up inside of him. She sat on the side of the saddle, hugging on to it for dear life. Flying terrified her, though she would never admit it, she was much more at home on the ground, where she could summon a boulder to alleviate any problems that might arise. Up here, however, she was completely defenseless, she could not see, and aside from the gold necklace and the meteor bracelet around her arm, there was nothing she could bend.

Toph sat still, her milky green eyes staring out into a sea of perpetual darkness, never to be touched by the amorous rays of the sun, never to be palliated by the light of the stars, and never to be breached by a friendly face. On the ground it was easy to forget that Toph was blind, in fact she seemed to get by a whole lot better than everyone else. But up here, in the air, she was so fragile, so delicate, almost like a flower; if one held it out in the breeze the petals would be blown away.

Zuko shook the thoughts from his head; Toph would kill him if she knew that that was what he was thinking of at the moment. He shifted positions, looking over his shoulder to make sure that they were flying in the right direction. At the moment there was no need for anyone to be directing Appa, he just had to be heading back towards the earth-kingdom, towards Goaling.

He shivered as he thought of the murderous deeds Toph was liable to perform when she found out that he was dragging her back to see her parents, but it was something that he felt she needed to do. From what he had gathered from the others he figured that Toph's relationship with her parents was rather fractured, something he could easily relate too. He was determined to help mend the hurt in her family, and in doing so, help prepare himself to do the same thing with Azula.

"So Sparky, where exactly are we going?" Zuko jumped at Toph's voice, feeling guilty because he was just thinking about where he was taking her.

"It's going to be a surprise." He said laconically. Toph blew a strand of hair away from her eyes.

"Ya, I bet I'll never see it coming." Zuko cringed, feeling that he somehow set her up for that one. He opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it. There was something he wanted to ask her but he was too afraid to ask. Eventually the harrowing silence got to him, there was no way he was going to ride all the way to Goaling like this. He cleared his throat, trying to get her attention.

"So, uhhh, Toph. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind answering a question for me." Toph continued to stare out into space.

"Whatever Sparks." She said.

"Well, I was kinda wondering what it is that's been bothering you lately." Toph turned, staring where she believed he was, though it was a bit too his right.

"Why does everyone think that there's something bothering me? Just because I'm not as giddy as the rest of you yahoos doesn't mean that there's something wrong with me. Maybe I'm just sick and tired of putting up with you people." She said, irritated. Zuko rubbed the back of his head.

"Look, I know that you put on the tough girl act and all but you don't need to do that with me. I understand wanting to be strong and not showing weakness, but you don't have to live like that. Like my Uncle told me there's nothing wrong with letting people who… uhhh… care about you help you." Zuko expected another disparage from Toph, but instead she paused, something about what he said resonating within. Perhaps he was more like his uncle than he thought.

Toph was quite for a few seconds, battling the emotions swelling in her chest. Finally, when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was soft and heavy, choking on emotion.

"It's just that, well, things aren't really working out for me, now that all the fighting's over." She said. "When we were still fighting the war it was easy to push aside my problems, I could just focus on training or something else, I didn't have time for silly personal problems, but now, I really have nothing else to think about." Toph brought her knees up to her chest, letting go of the saddle to hug them. "I have to actually face up to my problems now, and they're not the type you can slug in the face or smash with a rock. I'm just way out of my league here and I really don't know what to do." Zuko's heart leapt in his throat as he listened, painfully reminded of the inner turmoil that he himself had ignored for so many years. He came up to her, taking a seat beside her.

"I may not be my uncle but I can still try and offer some advice. What exactly has been getting to you lately?" Toph breathed deeply, not believing that she was about to talk to someone about it.

"Well, now that the war's over, I keep thinking that I have to go back to Goaling some time, and face my parents. I know I hurt them pretty bad, but I still don't think I've forgiven them, I just don't know what to do with them." Said Toph, sending a wave of panic through Zuko. If she was not ready to forgive them when they arrived that meant that he was probably not coming back from this trip.

Toph sighed, rubbing her knees.

"The other thing is, well, it's kinda silly." She said, turning red. Zuko lifted an eyebrow.

"Come on, it can't be that silly." He said, giving her a reassuring nudge. Toph swallowed and opened her mouth.

"Well, I kinda like someone." She said. Zuko smiled, holding back a laugh. It was about time the young earthbender ran into the same problem as the rest of them.

"Ohh, is that so? That doesn't sound like such a problem, except perhaps for him. Who is this lucky fellow?" Asked Zuko, elbowing Toph playfully. She smiled, laughing.

"Ya, he's sure lucky. I'm kinda more of a stalker than anything else. He's a real moron, but he makes me laugh. I don't really know, but there's something about him that just makes me... vulnerable, and when I'm around him, I really don't mind. I don't have to be the tough girl around him, he appreciates me for who I am." Toph looked straight ahead, her face a mélange of adoration and pain. Zuko's smile began to fade, realizing who she was talking about.

"Ohh, let me guess, this guy's in a relationship right? With his boomerang and a certain Kyoshi warrior?" Toph turned beat red, made even worse by the last glinting rays of the sun.

"Ya, I like Sokka okay. If you tell anyone I'll kill you!" She said, punching him on the shoulder to cover up her embarrassment. Luckily she could not see so the blow glanced off the side of his arm, but it still sent a flare of pain to his head. He rubbed his arm, looking at his little friend.

"Don't worry Toph, you're secrets safe with me. It's not like there's anyone I could tell anyway." Toph looked deflated, her secret having been spilled out before him. She was laying everything on the line by telling him, and to be honest with herself she did not even know why.

"It's just so hard liking someone who likes someone else. It hurts the way he looks at her, the way he touches her fondly, the way he speaks to her. I just know that those are words he'll never say to me. Those are touches that I'll never feel. He protects me and takes care of me; we're best friends, but he doesn't even realize how I feel for him, I don't think he even realizes that I'm a girl!" Zuko could not argue with that. Sokka was a bright guy, but he was oblivious to certain things.

"It's like a knife in the heart every time I'm with him and Suki shows up." Tears slowly began to trickle down her face as the pain coursed through her body.

"I know that I have no right to be angry with him, and I really want to wish him the best, but I still feel this way, and no matter how hard I try I can't stomp these feelings out!" She turned and spat over the side. "I just get so angry, so upset, and the worst part about it is this stupid hope, this childish dream that someday he'll notice me, that he'll feel the same way about me that I feel for him, but I know that it won't ever happen, and so that hope turns to pain." By now the trickle of tears had turned to a waterfall. She buried her head in her arms and began to sob, her shoulders shaking with frustration and sorrow. Zuko sat back, shocked at the violent reaction that this topic was eliciting from her. He had never seen Toph in such a state before, in fact he was pretty sure that no one had ever seen her like this. He did not know what to do, whether to embrace her or to let her cry it out on her own.

Zuko thought back to his uncle, and believed at the moment that he was supposed to hold her tight. He took in a deep breath and prepared his privates for a bruising, then he leaned in and held her tight, bringing her small frame close to his. He put a reassuring hand on her head, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders.

Toph did not even seem to notice. She kept on crying, burying her face into Zuko's chest. Zuko just sat there, trying to cajole her, but feeling like he was failing miserably. After a minute or so of such un-Toph like behavior she began to regain her composure. She leaned back, removing herself from Zuko's arms. She wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve, sniffling. Her eyes were red from tears, and her face was haggard, but she seemed a bit better.

"Sorry Sparks." She said, her nose congested. Zuko smiled gently.

"Look…" He stopped right there, having said the wrong thing. Toph gave him a weak smile.

"It's okay, I get what you mean." Zuko gave a quick prayer of thanks that she was in such a forgiving mood and continued on.

"I have to say that I really don't know how you feel. Mai and I, we were always a thing, even when we were young, she's never been with another guy and I never really felt jealous about her." Started Zuko, leaving out the incident at Ember Island.

"After I got banished I'm ashamed to say that I never really thought of her, I was just so focused on myself I guess I never thought of how she was feeling at the time. However, when I, you know…"

"Betrayed us?" Interjected Toph. Zuko turned red, ashamed.

"Ya, betrayed you. I got to go back with her, and though we had our rough times I started to really bond with her. Eventually when I made the decision to try and join you guys the only thing holding me back was Mai. I was so afraid of losing her forever that it prevented me from doing the right thing, for a time. When I finally did leave it hurt so much being away from her, and when I saw her in the prison she looked so hurt that I thought my heart would break. Now, I know that it's not quite the same thing as what you're going through but I think I understand the heartache associated with liking someone. I know it's painful, but I think the only course through this is to hold on to that hope you're feeling, even if it does let you down. When I was with you guys the only thing keeping me going was training Aang and the hope that one day Mai would forgive me. At times it felt like it would never come true, and then it would hurt so bad, but when it finally did happen, when she forgave me and saved my life, I was so overjoyed that I could barely hold on to it." Toph raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Didn't she get captured saving you?" She asked. Zuko blushed.

"Ya, she did, but that was one of the things that made me realize that she had fully forgiven me, she had betrayed my sister and saved me, disregarding Azula's reaction, which could have been a whole lot more volatile." He said, thinking back to another event.

"My point is Toph, that yes, that hope is going to hurt you at times, but it's better than looking back years later and wondering what would have happened if you had held on just a bit longer." Toph nodded her head.

"I understand." She said. Zuko smiled, giving her a hug. He received a punch to the gut for his trouble.

"What do you think you're doing there Sparky? I'm not some plush toy you can sit there and hug every time you get mushy." Zuko leaned back, grabbing his stomach and sucking at wind. Toph was back.

* * *

Aang and Katara strolled down the streets, hand in hand. The evening had been wonderful, there were so many things to see and do that they hardly had time to catch their breath. Mai and Ty-Lee's performance was immaculate, inspiring awe and wonder in everyone who saw it. Afterwards the gang split up, going each their separate ways. Aang and Katara had watched some firebending shows, then perused some street vendors where they got some snacks to munch on. After that they had went and seen the Dying Ember, a play about a folk myth of spring and autumn. Aang had lost track afterwards of what they had done. Eventually they had found themselves at the appointed restaurant for dessert. Luckily they had made reservations, as the place was packed. They had ordered their sweet desserts, devoured them, and had taken off again, meandering around at their pleasure.

It was beginning to get late, somewhere in the early hours of the morning. Aang and Katara was strolling down a lantern lit street, almost deserted aside from one angry cabbage vendor, who was bereft of all his cabbages. Up ahead was a little brook with a quaint bridge running over it. Katara looked at Aang and started to run, leading him by the hand to the center of the bridge. They stood, side by side, looking over the railing and into the water. He breathed in deep the crisp air, the faint smell of honey emanating from Katara's perfume. He smiled, life was good. Katara let out a sigh.

"We did it, didn't we?" Aang looked down at their reflections, seeing Katara's serene face.

"Ya, we did do it." He said. Katara turned to him, taking his face in her hands.

"You did it." She said softly. Aang took her hands in his own.

"No, we did it, all of us. If it wasn't for the whole gang I would have never been able to defeat Ozai. If Sokka and Toph and Suki hadn't stopped the other airships who knows how much of the earth-kingdom would be charred embers. And if you and Zuko hadn't taken out Azula then we would have had to take her on as well as her army, which would have been a mess." He said. Katara's blue eyes glowed like sapphires in the moons light.

"We did it." He said, repeating the phrase. Katara looked into his face, stirring up feelings deep within him. How he had lived without Katara by his side, he could not remember. He had to have her there, to let her know that he loved her, and would do anything for her. Without her he felt as if the world would stop spinning. The sun would not shine and the air would not be sweet. She was his reason for living, she was his light. Katara gazed at him, the same feelings reciprocated in her stare.

"I love you." She said softly. Aang smiled gently, leaning in close.

"I love you too." He whispered, his mouth meeting hers. Aang wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. They were engulfed in a passionate kiss, the fire from their touch coursing through their bodies. He started to feel Katara's back, his hands slowly moving down. Her soft sinuous body curved beneath his hands, making his heart rate spike. He kept reaching further down, reaching the small of her back. Then he froze, feeling something he felt for sure was off limits. His eyes shot wide open at the same moment as Katara's. They pulled back quickly, staring at each other awkwardly. Red blushed cheeks glowed on both of them as they put nervous hands behind their heads. They stared at each other awkwardly for a second or two, until Aang coughed.

"So, uhhh… you want to go grab a bite to eat?" He asked, trying to palliate his embarrassment. Katara nodded her head, her cheeks crimson.

"Ya, I could eat." The two walked back up the street, abstaining from holding hand lest it lead to another undesirable situation. Searching for a vendor they came across an old lady selling cherries.

Aang purchased two bags, giving one to Katara and keeping the other for himself. He bit into the succulent flesh, red juice dripping down his chin, but he hardly noticed the tangy flavor, he was too occupied with what had happened back on the bridge. He stole a look at Katara and determined that she was in the same predicament as he.

The two walked silently back to the palace, a cool breeze blowing, bringing with it the silence of a city going to bed. They reached the courtyard to the palace, discarding of their now empty bags in a trash can. They walked in, still having not said a word. As they entered they encountered a fierce altercation. Sokka was yelling at the top of his lungs, while Suki was screaming right back at him.

"What is wrong with you?! What are you afraid of?! Nothing bad is going to happen, just man up and get over it!" That was Suki. Sokka, his face red, yelled back at her.

"I already told you what's the matter, you deaf or something?" Suki cracked her knuckles.

"Watch how you talk to me Sokka." She growled. Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Or what girly? You going to come at me? I already know all your tricks and to be honest you ain't that good sweetheart." Suki tried to punch him in the face, but he blocked it, pushing her back.

"Told ya." He said, snickering. Suki spun around and hit him on the shoulder with a roundhouse kick. Sokka turned with it, coming back and slapping Suki with the back of his hand. A resounding _crack_ emanated forth after the hit, stunning Suki and making Katara angry.

"Sokka, what in the world do you think you're doing!?" Yelled Katara, stalking over to her brother. Sokka turned, not in the mood to put up with Katara's nosiness.

"What are you doing here Katara?" He asked, perturbed.

"Apparently I'm watching you abuse Suki." She said, getting up in his face. Sokka cracked his neck.

"You are so bias Katara, I'm assuming that you saw her hit me first and still you think that I'm the one causing trouble here." Katara breathed out through her nose.

"You are intolerable Sokka, you should never hit Suki!" Said Katara. Suki stepped up, pushing Sokka over and getting in Katara's face.

"Back off Katara, I don't need you to protect me, I can handle Sokka by myself." Katara looked like she was going to scream.

"I was just trying to help you Suki!" She said. Suki brushed away a strand of hair, a red mark developing on her cheek.

"Like I said I don't need your help snow-peasant." Katara's eye twitched.

"Beat it Katara." Said Sokka, brushing himself off as he came back over. "This isn't any of your business." Katara reached down, forgetting that she did not have her water skin. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Really huh, you want to dance missy?" He said, putting his face inches from hers. Katara cracked her knuckles.

"I don't need bending to kick your sorry butt." She said, poking Sokka in the chest. Aang sat stunned off to the side, befuddled by how quickly the argument had escalated. He was about to step in and do something before it ended in blows, but a sharp voice barked out from across the courtyard.

"Hey! You two! Back off!" Everyone jumped at the sound of Jack's deep base tones. They whirled around to see Jack marching across the courtyard, directly at them. Sokka and Katara took a few steps back from each other, adhering to Jack's wish.

He came up to them, putting his hands on his hips.

"I leave you guys alone for one day and you're at each-other's throats by nightfall, what's wrong with you?!" Katara dropped her head. Sokka looked down at his toes, twiddling his thumbs. Jack looked at Sokka, then Katara.

"Well, does anyone want to explain what happened?" He said. Katara looked away, mumbling something incoherent. Sokka moved to speak, but then closed his mouth. Aang decided it was probably best if he stepped in and offered an explanation.

"Sokka and Suki were arguing, so Katara stepped in and started to argue with Sokka, then they were about to hit each other." Aang grimaced at how poor of an explanation it sounded coming out of his mouth. Jack pinched his nose.

"Thanks for the very avid description Aang, now will someone please tell me what you two were so fiercely debating that you were about to resort to blows?" Sokka decided to take it from here.

"Suki and I were discussing something passionately and then Katara stuck her big nose in it." He said, frowning at his little sister. Katara turned bright red.

"I only interjected because you hit Suki!" She said. Jack looked over at Suki, who by now had a large handprint on the side of her cheek.

"You hit Suki?" He said, turning to Sokka. Sokka held up his hands.

"Wait, wait, wait! You're not getting the whole story here. Suki hit me first, it was just self-defense." Jack scratched his head, trying to get everything straight.

"You know what, I don't want to deal with this right now. Everyone, separate, get some room, we'll talk about this later on when everyone is more calm and my head doesn't hurt so much." Katara stuck her tongue out at Sokka, stalking off to the palace. Sokka, in turn, shook an angry fist at his little sister, marching off to the garden, but not before he gave Jack the death glare. Suki sat fuming for a few moments then turned and followed after Sokka. Jack breathed out a sigh.

"Man, it's just one of those days isn't it?" He said, shaking his head. He turned to Aang, a weary smile on his face.

"So, how'd the evening go, aside from that little fiasco there?" Aang scratched the back of his head.

"Uhhh, it went well, you know, it was pretty nice." Jack raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Well hmm? Is there something you're not telling me Aang?" Aang started to turn red, shifting nervously on his feet.

"Nope, nothing, nothing at all." Jack smiled gently and started walking away towards the gate.

"Come on kid!" He called, making Aang hang his head. He was sure in for it!

* * *

Sokka marched down the smooth stone paths of the garden, weaving around corners and hiding behind bushes. He could hear Suki stalking him, silent but distinct. He continued weaving about, trying to shake his tail. Eventually he reaches the cherry tree where he had cringed from Toph, begging silently to be spared. He looked around, Suki not in sight. He let out a sigh and slumped down on the tree, letting his head rest in the crook of the bark. What had gone wrong?

The whole evening had been spectacular, almost transcendent. Suki and he had gotten along so well. They laughed and gawked at all the sights they saw, enjoying each-other's company just like they used too. The ate food together, which mostly consisted of meat, and made funny faces at each other, causing many a laugh and exposing their already full mouths. It was such a nice evening, until they had gotten back to the palace. Suki had asked him, her head laid ever so gently on his shoulder, her arm tucked amorously beneath his. The air was tingling and she was daring him, but he had said no. That had drawn a disappointed sigh from Suki, who then asked why. He told her he'd rather not talk about it, bringing about Suki's inquisitive prodding, which only further served to stir up his ire. Eventually their quiet evening had erupted into a cacophony of angry voices and blows, leaving both parties frustrated and ticked off.

Sokka breathed out, trying to calm himself down. He let the cool night air rush over him, settling his frayed nerves. What was he doing wrong in this relationship? During the war they had been so good together, it just seemed like everything they did brought them closer. They just fit!

But now, now everything was a problem. They could not agree on anything, and they fought, every day. He was beginning to wonder if this relationship was even worth it.

He sighed, covering his face with his hands.

"Hello Sokka." Sokka jumped out of his skin at the sinister voice. He whirled around, seeing Suki leaning languidly against the tree.

"Trying to hide are we?" She asked, looking at her nails. Sokka sat back down, slouching.

"What do you want?" He said tacitly. Suki came over to him, sitting down next to him.

"Look, I know that the evening hasn't been ending well, but I really did have a good time tonight. I just wanted to say sorry, I know that you're uncomfortable on the subject, and I shouldn't have pressed it." She said. Sokka stuck out his lip.

"Ya, you shouldn't have." He said, pouting. Suki smiled.

"Ohh, come on baby, it wasn't that bad was it? The only reason it escalated so much was because your sister stepped in." She said.

"You hit me before she stepped in." Reminded Sokka. Suki shrugged her shoulders.

"You hit men back, so we're even." She said, displaying the welt on her cheek from where Sokka had struck her. He grimaced.

"I'm sorry Suki, I lost my temper." He said. She pursed her lips.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt… too much." She added slyly. Sokka smiled, leaning over and kissing her cheek tenderly.

"Really though, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I just lost my temper, that's all." He said, putting an arm around her shoulders and giving her a reassuring shake. Her firm, sturdy body relaxed in his arms. She leaned on his chest, laying her head against his sturdy body, taking comfort in its warmth.

"It's okay baby." She said, using her pet name for Sokka. "Couples fight at times." Sokka held her tight.

"Ya, but they should never resort to blows, I feel like a moron now." He said, holding her tight. She smiled mischievously.

"Like I said, it's okay baby." She whispered, leaning in close to Sokka's face. Her sweet breath fell over him, drawing him in. He started to fall forward, grabbing her with both his arms. He embraced her in a passionate kiss, her tantalizing lips pressed against his own. Sokka held her tight, drawing her in more and more. Suki held him at first, then let her hands begin to roam. She rubbed his back, eventually making her way down to his belt. The sound of it clicking out of place snapped Sokka out of it. He pushed her away, standing up.

"I can't believe you!" He cried, irate. Suki groaned, not even trying to defend herself.

"Really Sokka? I could name a million and one guys right now who would still be lying down with me." She said, letting one of her shoulder straps fall down. Sokka tried not to look.

"Well guess what, I'm not one of them!" He said, pacing back and forth. "I mean, how many times do we have to go through this same ol' song and dance huh? When will you realize that no means nooooo!" Suki ignored his rant, letting another shoulder strap fall down.

"Come on baby, I'm an elite warrior trained in the arts of determination and slyness, I don't know the meaning of the word failure." She said, a seductive smile on her lips.

"Look it up in a dictionary because you should be quite familiar with the term by now." Said Sokka. Suki stood up, letting her dress fall to the ground.

"Excuse me, what are you insinuating there?!" She demanded. Sokka turned to her, stunned to see her in nothing but her underwear. Her sweet, milky white skin beckoned to him, demanding that he take her and embrace her, but he resisted the urge, holding up a hand to obscure the image.

"I'm just saying that you haven't succeeded yet in seducing me, and let's just say you aren't exactly the best warrior around. I mean, you were captured by Azula, and I faced her more times than you did and never got captured." He said, a smirk on his face. Suki's face was red, burning with anger.

"Ohoh now, look out! Mr. Boomerang is a mighty warrior all of a sudden because his friends did not let him get captured." She said, waving her hands mockingly.

"Hey!" Cried Sokka, insulted. "I did plenty of my own fighting thank you very much. Besides, I'm the plan guy, we wouldn't be standing where we are if it wasn't for my brilliant schemes!" He said, raising an invigorated finger into the air to reinforce his point. Suki rolled her eyes.

"Ya, we certainly wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for you, we'd probably be rolling around by now." Sokka turned red, half from embarrassment and half from choler.

"Look Suki, I've had enough with your innuendos and provocative statements, the answer is no!" He said, throwing both hands in the air. Suki put her hands on her silky white hips; tantalizing.

"You know your answer was different when we were still fighting the war." She said. Sokka rolled his eyes as she once again brought up the tent incident.

"We were going to do it, until Zuko walked in and ruined everything. Why is it so different now? There's no chance of us getting caught, your daddy isn't anywhere around, besides, if we do we can just say screw you!" Suki looked at Sokka with irritation, her brow smoldering. Sokka put his face in his hands, wiping them down in a slow exaggerated motion.

"I told you." He said, starting off slow. "I made a mistake okay, I shouldn't have misled you like that. I had a moment of weakness, and gave in. Now, now I know better, and it's not going to happen again. It was a good thing Zuko walked in, he saved me!" Suki rolled her eyes.

"Saved you from what wussy boy? Having a good time? You afraid I won't like what I see?" Sokka turned around.

"I've had enough of this conversation." He said, making his way towards the palace. Suki shouted after him.

"At least say it!" She said. Sokka stopped, perplexed.

"Say what?" He said, calling back over his shoulder. Suki walked up to him, her slender hands running softly across Sokka's shoulders, sending a shudder through his body.

"Say what you won't do with me." She said softly, her lips tickling his ear. Sokka's mouth dried up, his tongue failing him. He tried to speak, but nerves got the better of him. He swallowed and tried again, barely managing to squeak out an answer.

"I won't sleep with you." He said. Suki laughed sharply in his ear.

"My goodness Sokka you can't even say the word can you?" She said, laughing. Sokka turned around, embarrassed.

"I can say it." He said, trying not to notice her almost naked body. She looked up at him, cruel amusement shining brightly in her face.

"No you can't." She said. "You just can't say sex can you?" Sokka turned beet red, eliciting another wave of laughter from Suki. She grabbed her stomach, trying to calm herself down at the sight of Sokka standing awkwardly before her, unable to perform her simple task.

"Does the word really bother you that much?" She asked, mirth still in her eyes. Sokka nodded his head.

"Ya, it kinda does." He said, scratching the back of his head. Suki came up to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Take me now Sokka of the southern water-tribe and have sex with me!" Sokka jumped back out of her grasp, making her laugh again.

"No, and stop saying that, you're making me uncomfortable!" He said, shaking himself. Suki smiled, a tear sliding down her face.

"Whatever wussy boy. You go ahead then and have a sexless night, someday you'll realize what you're missing." She finished, grabbing her dress and walking off towards the palace. Sokka stayed in the garden, infuriated and annoyed.

"I can say sex." He mumbled, sitting down against the tree. He just could not do it.

* * *

Aang and Jack were walking through a park, silent. The cherry trees rustled lightly in the wind, their leaves falling gentle to the ground. The soft tumble of a rivulet lay close by, echoing along with the nighttime chirp of crickers, hopping happily about in the muddy grass by the edge of the water. Jack strode over to a simple stone bench, sitting down and throwing his hands behind his head, relaxing with a heavy sigh. Aang followed him, sitting down in front of him in the grass, spreading out his legs and leaning back on his hands, breathing in the cooling night air. It was peaceful, serene, it was ohh so a set up.

Aang knew he was in trouble for something, probably the kiss on the bridge. He did not know how exactly but he bet Jack had already found out and now was going to chew him out over it, he was kinda a stickler for those type of things, acting like the father Aang never had. Jack looked at Aang, amusement in his eyes.

"So, want to tell me straight up what's bothering you or should I poke around a bit, try to figure it out?" He said. Aang bit his lip, mulling it over for a second or two. He should just tell him straight out, he was going to figure it out anyways, he had a nasty knack for doing that. Aang sighed.

"The evening was going fine until Katara and I went to this bridge. It was really nice and romantic, and we kinda kissed, and then it got awkward." Said Aang, demonstrating his talent for being as ambiguous as possible. Jack smiled gently.

"How much of a kiss are we talking about here hmm? Was it like a quick I love you peck? Or more like a, I want you desperately smother?" Aang turned red.

""I want you desperately smother." He said. Jack withheld a laugh.

"Let me guess, you went roving around didn't you?" Aang turned his away, his face glowing.

"Kinda." He said. Jack sat and thought about it for a moment.

"Let me guess, you touched her butt didn't you?" Aang stood up, turning his back to Jack.

"Ya, so what? What's it to you!?" He said, a mélange of embarrassment and anger passing through him. A soft hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Aang, look at me bud." Aang turned slowly, tears dripping down his face. He looked at Jack, that big burly form, those soft blue eyes. He knew that Jack was just teasing him and that he really cared for him, but he was just so embarrassed! Jack brought him into a big hug, letting Aang sob on his shoulder.

"It's okay kid." He said, patting him on the back. Aang sniffled, pulling out of the hug and wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve.

"It's just, I feel so disgusted with myself! I mean, what was I doing? Grabbing her butt?! It totally shocked her, and I could tell she was embarrassed that I had done that." Aang sat back down on the grass, putting his head in his hands.

"What type of sicko am I?" He asked, hating himself for his actions. Jack came over and sat next to him, wrapping a comforting arm around Aang's small shoulders.

"Look Aang, I know that you think it's weird being attracted to a girl like that, but let me tell you, it's perfectly natural." Aang looked up, not totally convinced.

"For generations guys have been looking at girls and girls have been looking at guys. It's the way the Creator made us, we like each other physically, and there's nothing wrong with that. We just can't let that attraction become lust, that's when everything goes downhill, believe me, I've had a few friends." Said Jack, memories playing at the edge of his vision.

Aang stared at him steadily, listening closely to every word.

"There is nothing wrong with thinking that Katara is pretty, because she is." Said Jack, Aang narrowed his eyes at him, making Jack laugh. He threw up his hands.

"Don't worry kid, I'm not trying to poach your girl, I'm just saying that she is really good looking." Aang was not convinced that Katara was safe, he would have to watch Jack more closely in the future. Jack continued on, knowing he had not convinced Aang.

"Like I was saying though, as a guy, you're going to be attracted to her with a severe flame. If you don't watch it that flame will spread and pretty soon you'll get burnt." He gave him a playful tap on the chest. "I think that if you want to kiss her that's okay. You can hug her, kiss her, miss her, that don't matter. What does matter is that you don't…. well, that you don't, you know." Aang raised a perplexed eyebrow, making Jack turn beet red.

"You can't have sex with her Aang." Aang held his countenance, still confused. Jack smacked himself on the forehead.

"Ohh geesh, we're getting into the birds and the bees. Didn't the monks ever go over it with you?" Asked Jack. Aang shook his head. He did not have a clue what birds and bees had to do with Katara.

"Well, since you don't know what sex is, let's just go with that's how babies show up, you understand that right?" Aang nodded his head, not having really thought about it before. Jack continued on.

"What this entails is a certain physical proximity that requires a bit of exposure." He said, staring at Aang's unmoved features. Aang could tell he was insinuating something here, but he still did not quite get it. Jack raised his eyebrows, staring at Aang, pleading with him to get what he was implying.

Aang looked at Jack, then over at the tree, then back at Jack, He thought about the kiss on the bridge then it struck him.

He jumped back, shocked and extremely confused. Was it true, was that really what had to happen for that?! Aang shook his head, terrified; what was he doing?!

"What, why…what are you talking about?!" Said Aang, trying not to run away from this very uncomfortable situation. Jack rubbed his eyes, trying to contain his own discomfort.

"Look, Aang, it's just important that now that you have a relationship with Katara that you know how to go about it. When the time arrives and you finally get married the whole sex thing will work itself out, but for now you need to avoid it at all costs. It's wrong and extremely detrimental to your relationship." Aang was still confused but he thought that he got the general gist of it. He nodded his head slowly, hoping that it would make the conversation end sooner.

"So, all I have to do is refrain from doing that one thing with her?" He said, the words extremely uncomfortable on his tongue. Jack nodded.

"It won't be as easy as you think. I'm pretty sure you received quite a jolt tonight when you held her like that." Aang shook his head, remembering the tingling sensation that had ran through his whole body.

"Times like that are going to come up, and it's going to make it hard, but as long as you resist and keep yourself pure, in thought and deed, you'll be alright." Aang nodded his head again, actually feeling a bit assured by this conversation. He still however did not like it and he was very appreciative when Jack arose and suggested that they go back towards the palace.

Sleep bombarded Aang as he walked through the doors, his eyes drooping with weariness. Jack walked with him to his room, wishing him goodnight. Aang stopped him for a second.

"Jack, where were you today?" He asked, yawning. Jack gave him a smile, the smile that, if he knew it, meant that he was lying to him.

"Just out and about in the markets, I just wanted some time to myself I guess, you know, trying to still put the pieces together." Aang nodded his head, completely understanding. If he had amnesia he would probably want to figure out what his past was as well. Aang wished him goodnight, entering his room and stripping of his garments. He crawled under his silk sheets, warmth and security spreading over him as he drifted off. That night he dreamed of Katara, and she was still wearing clothes.


	3. Homecomings

**Chapter III**

Zuko awoke with a start, a nightmare of earth choking him swirling around in his mind. He looked over at Toph, who still slept soundly underneath his coat. He had given it to her during the night, after she had fallen asleep of course.

He blinked his eyes, looking at the rising sun. He had fallen asleep, that was not supposed to happen. He looked around, noticing that they were on the ground; Appa must have decided that it if everyone else was asleep then he could be too. He rubbed his eyes, looking at the trees around them. It seemed a bit strange, they were all evenly spaced, the same type and almost the same exact size, something you would see if in a town or something. Zuko sat up sharply. Appa had landed in some town!

Zuko moved to the edge of the saddle, looking about. Not just any town, Goaling. He swallowed hard. He had only been here once before in his travels, long ago when he was still hunting the avatar. The place seemed just about the same as it had back then, suspended away from the travails of the war, protected in a shell of mountains that deflected any harm. Zuko looked down at Appa's slumbering face.

How had he known where he wanted to go? He wondered, giving the big beast a friendly pat on the head. A resounding growl indicated that Appa was pleased with the pat, though it had emanated from his sleep.

Zuko hopped down off of Appa, walking next to a wall. He came around the corner to a pathway leading to the front gate. He went up, looking at the seal above the gate. A flying boar. Yup, this was Toph's house; Jack had told him that that was their family symbol. He looked down the empty streets. It was still early in the morning, it seemed that most people were still asleep. He went back over to Appa and Toph, the smell of cherries strong in his nose. He looked up at the trees, realizing that they were cherry trees. He grabbed a bunch from the loaded branches, eating them and spitting out the seeds.

Azula did not like cherry pits. He thought as he ate around them, spitting them out with a slight grin of pleasure. He found them amusing, probably just because he used to order his cherries with their pits still in them, thus forcing Azula either to get her own or eat around the pits which he knew she hated. Zuko smiled to himself, it seemed that Azula was not the only one who could cause trouble.

He walked back to Appa, climbing up with the cherries he had picked. Once up there he sat for a while, eating and spitting, picking more cherries off the high branches nearest Appa. Soon his mouth was bright red from their succulent juice, his fingers sticky and grimy. He pulled out a canteen of water, drinking some them using some of it to wash off his hands. He looked over at Toph, who was still sleeping. She had been quite exhausted after sobbing in his arms, being emotionally drained of everything. He just hoped that she felt better today, that way he had a better chance of surviving.

After a while longer of munching and chewing on his cherries, Zuko decided that he should rouse her. He walked over to her, grabbing her shoulder and shaking it in a manner he thought was gentle. All he got back was loud snore. He figured he would have to do a bit more to wake the girl up. He shook her gruffly, calling her name. Still she persisted in sleep.

Zuko frowned; this girl would wake up at the slightest vibration that meant trouble but when it came to a morning's excursion she was as solid as the earth she bent. He went over and grabbed the canteen, having sense enough to pull off his jacket before dosing her in the face. The reaction was immediate.

Toph sat up abruptly, throwing her arms about and howling. She swung her fists at imaginary enemies, daring them to come on. When she heard Zuko's laughter she calmed down a bit, realizing what had happened.

"Very funny Sparky." She said, wiping the water off her face and flinging the droplets in his direction. Zuko calmed himself, trying to remember the image on Toph's face.

"Sleep well?" He asked. Toph shook out her hair.

"Ya, until some wise guy decided to dump water on me." She said. Zuko went over to her, sitting next to her.

"Sorry, but I couldn't get you up." He said, placing a few cherries in her hand. Toph rolled one between her fingers real quick, snapped off the stem, and popped it in her mouth, crunching on it, pit and all.

"Uhhh, Toph, you're supposed to spit out the pit." Said Zuko. Toph just laughed at him.

"Ya, that's what my Mom used to tell me, but it sure didn't stop me then, so it ain't now." She replied, popping two more in. Zuko winced at the sound of the pits being crushed between her molars. Toph smacked her lips together, finishing of her cherries.

"Say, those are really good, got anymore?" She asked. Zuko handed her the remainder of his supplies, cherry trees only a foot or so away.

"So." Said Toph around a mouthful of cherries and pits. "When are we going to get there?" Zuko's throat dried. He tried to say something but the words didn't come out, just a squeak. Toph laughed.

"What's the matter, got a cherry pit stuck in your throat?" She asked, smacking him on the shoulder blade; she was probably aiming for his back. Zuko cleared his throat.

"No, it's just a bit dry." He said, taking a swig from the canteen. He cleared his throat, turning back to see red juice dripping down Toph's chin, bright red fingers popping in more cherries.

"We're actually here." Said Zuko, trying to not imagine the cherry juice as his own blood. Toph stood up stretching.

"Really? Well then let's get a move on. Personally I could stand for some more cherries, they're just like the ones we had back…" Her words cut off as she landed on the ground, the familiar earth echoing out to her where she was. Zuko landed beside her, waiting to see her reaction. She sat stunned for a moment, her brows wrinkled with confusion. She opened her mouth, taking a second to think of what to say, but all that came out was.

"Home?" Zuko swallowed. This was the moment of truth, if he could not sell Toph here he was done for. He'd probably be in a six foot ditch within the hour, still alive.

"Ya, home. Jack thought that it would be best if you made things right with your parents." Said Zuko, remembering what Jack had told him as well as the time Toph had spoken to him on the subject, though admittedly Zuko was not paying all that close attention. He had hoped that by using Jack's name he could keep her calm, but unfortunately it did not quite work out like that. Instead of keeping her calm it more or less made her cheeks burst into flames as her knuckles creaked in tight little fists.

"You brought me home?" Said Toph, grinding her teeth. Zuko took a step back.

"Yes, yes I did." He said, getting ready for an attack. Toph turned to him, irate.

"Are you nuts!? What in the world were you thinking?! You think I ever want to come back here? I ran away for goodness sake's! My parents are a bunch of nosey, pompous, pretentious, arrogant, know it all's who were constantly in my business, just like you are apparently." She said, poking Zuko in the chest. "Our little fieldtrip, is over. You are going to take me back to the palace and that's the end of that." She said, marching back over to Appa. Zuko held his ground.

"No." He said. Toph stopped, about ready to get back on Appa.

"What did you say sparky?" Zuko tried to remind himself that he was the older one here, but with Toph's incredible bending abilities it was rather easy to forget that she was only fourteen.

"I said no. This is supposed to be a life changing fieldtrip, what can be more life changing than making things rights with your parents?" He said.

"Ya, it sure will be life changing, from freedom to prison." Said Toph. Zuko gritted his teeth.

"Listen, I'll probably never have this opportunity for myself, my father is a crazed mad man and my mother is more than likely dead, I can't rectify things, but you can. Sure they smothered you, but it was out of love."

"For themselves, not me. I was their little dress up doll, something for them to play with. My father had wanted a son, but because I was born a daughter and blind he gave up, instead treating me as if I was something to make him feel better about my failure in not being a son." She said, her fingers curling into fists. Zuko stood his ground.

"We are going to go up to that front gate, and we're going to talk to your parents. You're going to set things right, and then we'll leave, not before." He said, readying himself. Toph stepped towards him.

"You certain about that Sparky?" She asked. Zuko breathed out slowly.

"Yes, I am." Toph nodded her head, as if respecting his audacity. She stepped with a rigid motion, shooting three earthen pillars at Zuko. He jumped out of the way, shooting two fireballs at her. Toph made a wall and blocked the fire, shooting out chunks of it at him. He punched his way through three of them before one caught him on the shoulder. He spun with it and fell to the ground, pain running down his arm. He did a kick up, shooting a massive flame at her as he sent himself into the air. Toph rolled out of the way and shot two more boulders at him.

Zuko ran towards them and launched himself into the air, twisting his torso so as to avoid the boulders. He landed on his feet, sending a fireball as well as a fire-arc at Toph, trying to close the distance. Toph made a shield, spinning it and blocking his attack. She then threw it, the earth rotating harshly through the air at his head. He slid under it, barely avoiding the lethal mass of earth. He popped himself up, shooting a couple more fireballs at Toph, who created another wall and hid behind it. She stepped back and punched the wall, sending the whole thing flying towards him.

Eyes wide with fear, Zuko jabbed two stiff fingers at the hurdling wall, a bright orange flame jumping from his fingertips as he split the massive boulder in two. The two halves flew behind him, crashing into the wall and reducing it to a pile of rubble. The two took a second to breath, sweat dripping down their brows. Animosity glowed in Toph's eyes, their milky green demeanor transmitting an inexorable wave of rage. Zuko blinked, really hoping that his plan would work, and soon.

Without a word Toph came at him, shooting out pillars from the earth. Zuko made a run for her, trying to dodge the pillars that erupted out of the earth on either side of him. Just ten feet away from her one shot out and hit him in the side, sending him flying through the air. He crashed into a massive hunk of fur, which grumbled at him. Zuko stood up, brushing himself off.

"Sorry Appa." He mumbled. The shaggy bison growled something at him, returning to his nap. He looked over at Toph, who was waiting for him to move away from Appa, she did not want collateral damage.

Zuko took two steps forward, launched himself off of one of Toph's pillars, and brought two flaming whips down at Toph. She created an earth barrier between herself on the whips but they cracked through it, sending debris everywhere. She stumbled back, a bit dazed. Zuko pressed his advantage, launching a barrage of orange flames at her, the thought of accidently hurting her out of his mind. Toph sensed them coming and dove down, disappearing into the earth. Zuko stood tense, waiting for her to reemerge.

His heart palpitated inside his chest, pounding against his ribcage. His breath was hard, salty drops of sweat dripping into his eye. He blinked, wiping his forehead. He was a bit out of shape, now that the war was over. He would have to start a workout routine of sorts when he got back; if he got back. He looked around him, wishing for all the world that he was up in a tree, or somewhere where Toph could not just reach up a ghastly hand and suck him down to the underworld. He breathed deep, the air silent.

A ripple in the earth beneath his feet made him jump back, just in time to avoid a massive pillar of earth that shot straight into the air. Toph stood on top of it, smug as ever.

Zuko breathed through his nose and launched a massive fireball at the base of the pillar. It made contact with a thunderous crack, splitting the bottom of the pillar, sending it plummeting towards the ground. His heart leapt as he realized that Toph was falling off of it. He rushed forward, ready to catch her, but there was no need to. An earthen ramp came up out of the ground, catching Toph and depositing her safely on the ground. She cracked her neck, turning towards Zuko, who had taken up a defensive stance. She charged at him, crying out. Zuko ran towards her with a yell of rage, ready to end it. A solid glove of earth cracked around Toph's fingers; an irrevocably orange flame sprung into life in Zuko's hand. They rushed each other, fists raised. Someone was going to the hospital.

"Toph, is that you?" The two figures tried to stop, turning towards the source of the disturbance. They crashed into each other, falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs and curses. They shoved at each other, trying to separate.

"It is you Toph!" Cried the voice, running up to them. An ornate lady came to her, grabbing her as she lay on the ground, covered in dirt and sweat. Tears leapt into the figures eyes, holding her tight.

"I thought that you would never come back!" She said, weeping. Zuko stood up, brushing himself off. He looked at what could only be Mrs. Bei Fong, dressed in an intricate green and white dress, jewels dangling about her body, hair done up in the latest fashion from Ba Sin Sey. Yup, there was no doubt about it, this was Toph's mother.

Toph struggled, trying to get out of her mother's iron grip. Her mother pulled back, smiling at Toph with teary eyes.

"Ohh my goodness, look at you! You've grown so much! You're turning into quite the fine little lady." She said, an eyebrow lifting as she looked at Toph's regalia. Toph wanted to mention the fact that she was not aspiring to be a fine young lady, but her mother cut off her objection.

"My, my, what a ghastly outfit child! Don't worry though, I can have you all fixed up in something nice, we'll get rid of those wretched clothes, and we'll give you a bath, whatever you've been doing you must not have had much time to keep up on good hygiene." She said, wrinkling her nose. "Never mind that, I'll take care of it." Toph stood up, brushing herself off.

"Mom, I'm not here to stay." She said. A disappointed look came over her mother's face, all her plans of dignifying her child snatched from her with that one simple phrase.

"You're not? But, I thought that you had finally come home?" She said. Toph shook her head.

"No mum, I've got some important things to look after, now that the war's all said and done. I'm still working with the avatar and all, we've got to patch things up now. The only reason I'm here is because my friend here insisted that I show him where I had grew up, we were passing through and all, so I wanted to give him a quick look." Her mother turned to Zuko, who gave her a shy smile.

"Hello Mrs. Bei Fong, how are you?" He said. She gave him a curt nod, obviously disgusted. His hair lay in a shaggy nature atop his head. Perspiration licked at his brow and dripped down his cheek. His clothes were dirty and torn from his brief altercation with Toph. All in all, he did not look like the type of dignified man that her daughter should be spending time with.

"Who is this Toph?" She whispered, thinking herself quiet. Zuko cleared his throat.

"I'm Fire-Lord Zuko, the new ruler of the fire-nation." He said. Mrs. Bei Fong's face lit up.

"The new Fire-Lord? The one we've heard so many good things about?" She said, turning back to Toph. Zuko lifted and eyebrow. Apparently he had made an impression on the regal circles in the earth kingdom.

"Deary why didn't you tell me you were with the Fire-Lord? You should have sent a message ahead, I would have had something prepared." Toph turned red, anger burning her cheeks.

"Sorry mum, it didn't really cross my mind." She said, wanting to reiterate the fact that they were not going to stay. Mrs. Bei Fong waved her hand, making her way through the debris and back towards the house, a massive hole in the wall allowing her access.

"Come, come. I'll have something made up for you two, then you'll have to stay for dinner." She said, ignoring Toph's pleas that they had to go. Zuko walked up by Toph.

"I don't see why we can't stay for dinner." He said. Mrs. Bei Fong turned to him, a radiant smile on her face. Toph did not say a word, she just punched him, knocking him over. She stalked off towards the house, kicking rocks and sending them flying like bullets, crashing into the wall and garden. Zuko got up, following them; this was going to be a hard sell.

* * *

Aang awoke, tangled in his sheets. He shook them off, sweat dripping down his forehead. His heart pounded in his chest as the nightmare slowly receded from his mind. He could feel his chest tingle from where the blade had entered, carving into his flesh. His hand gripped the edge of the bed, steading himself as he drew in deep breaths. Eventually the terror ceased, and he was able to focus once more. He got out of bed, throwing on some simple garments from his desk, the one piece of furniture that he had managed not to brake within the past two weeks.

Aang left his room, surprised that Momo was not waiting at the door for him. He walked down the empty halls, wondering what time it was. Sunlight peaked through the windows, partly obscured by a gloomy sky. Leaves scattered about on the wind, bringing with it the smell of rain. There was going to be a thunder storm later on.

He walked down the hall, following the whims of his stomach and making his way towards the dining hall. He opened the doors himself, the guards receiving the day off, direct orders from the fire-lord, or, replacement fire-lord, as Iroh was in charge at the moment while Zuko was gallivanting about. He went in, looking down the long table.

A solo figure sat alone at the end, hunched over a plate of food. Sokka sat in his normal attire, minus the hand-wrap. He sat poking at his meat, a countenance on his face worthy of matching the weather's dull look. He sighed, looking up as Aang walked over.

"Hey Aang, how you doing?" He asked, setting his chopsticks down. Aang walked over to him, sitting beside him and stretching out.

"Not too bad, just a bit thrown off. What time is it exactly?" He asked, suppressing a yawn.

"It's a little past noon." Replied Sokka. Aang looked at him.

"Serious?" He asked. Sokka nodded his head, taking a sip from his glass.

"Ya, really. The clouds started rolling in about an hour ago, think we're getting a storm tonight." He said, his mind somewhere else. Aang nodded his head, deciding that he really was not that hungry.

"Have you seen Katara around?" He asked. Sokka shook his head.

"The only person I ran into today is you, besides Momo, but I'm pretty sure he's off on some bug hunt at the moment. Wish I had joined him." He said, pushing his unfinished plate away. Aang was surprised, as Sokka was not one to waste food, especially meat.

"Everything all right Sokka?" Asked Aang. Sokka laughed, sharp and caustic.

"No, not at all." He said, pushing his chair back and standing up.

"Want to talk about it?" Asked Aang. Sokka shook his head.

"No, thanks though." And with that he walked out of the room, closing the door with an ominous boom, leaving Aang alone in the dining hall. He sat alone for a while, pondering Sokka's queer behavior, associating it with his and Suki's altercation last night. Perhaps he should go check on him again, he probably could use some company. He stood up, then sat back down.

Well, Sokka might be in one of those moods where he did not want to talk to a bender. His nose itched as he remembered the last time he had approached Sokka in such a mood, winding up with a broken nose. He did not want a repeat experience, so he decided that it was probably best if he just let Sokka sort things out on his own.

Aang leaned back in his chair, sighing.

"Something bugging you kid?" Aang jumped at the voice. He turned and saw someone standing in the doorway to the kitchen, someone he did not recognize. The figure stepped forward.

"Don't worry avatar, I don't bite, much." He said, his sinister voice rippling with false civility. Aang eyed the stranger wearily, noticing his strange attire.

The man, or boy, as he seemed between ages, was wearing a tight black sleeveless shirt, revealing his pale and scarred arms. Fire nation emblems were branded into both shoulders, scars from a thousand knives and needles running down his forearms. His black pants clung tightly to his lanky legs, his gaunt frame standing straight up. Black boots sat tied to his feet, thick and heavy. A black belt with a crimson clasp, shaped like a rose, sat about his waist.

Looking up Aang noticed the man's face. It was narrow and conniving, observing him with sharp blue eyes. His nose was sharp, and bumpy, apparently having been fractured several times. The strangest thing about him, however, was his thick, slick backed, blonde hair, sitting atop his head with a regal appearance. The stranger stared back at him.

"Well, this is strange isn't it?" Said the stranger, stopping three feet away from Aang. Aang nodded his head.

"Ya, it kind of is. Who are you?" He asked. The stranger laughed.

"Ohh sorry, where are my manners? I'm Joshua." He said, reaching out a friendly hand.

"I'm Aang." He replied, grabbing the pale hand. It took him in a vise, iron wrapped in skin.

"I know who you are, airbender." Said Joshua. Aang was taken back, the severity in his voice shocking him.

"I've been watching you for some time now, and I have to say, I'm actually impressed." Said Joshua.

"Well, thank you." Replied Aang. Joshua shook his head, a frown crossing his face.

"Don't thank me kid. Thank your masters, they're the ones who taught you how to do all of your bending. Me, I'm just giving you my honest assessment." Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Assessment, why are you evaluating me?" He asked.

"I could tell you, but that would ruin the surprise." Replied Joshua. He walked over and took a seat, leaning back in the chair and plopping his boots up on the table.

"Look kid, I'm here for one reason and one reason only; to give you a choice." Aang raised an eyebrow, coming over and taking a seat near him.

"A choice?" He asked. Joshua nodded his head.

"That's right. A choice. A choice between evil and justice, it's that simple."

"What do you mean?" Joshua's countenance fell.

"What do I mean? Are you joking? What I mean is that either you can deal out divine justice against evil scumbags on this earth or you can aid them!" He shouted, slamming his fist against the table. Aang jumped, startled by his reaction. Joshua held up a hand, taking in a deep calming breath. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Look kid, it's really quite simple. All I want to do is for you to hand Azula over to me, that's it." He said. Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Azula, what in the world do you want Azula for?" He asked.

"None of your business. All you need to know is that she is evil and in the end she's going to get her just rewards." Aang shook his head.

"I can't do that. Azula is Zuko's sister, and he was the one who sent her to prison in the first place. Only he can make a decision about that." Joshua laughed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Ohh kid, you really don't get this do you? Look, I gave you a chance there when you let Ozai live, I mean, you took away his bending, that's a pretty good punishment there. But then, hah, then you had to go and ruin it by putting Zuzu in charge." Joshua stood up, throwing his hands into the air.

"I mean, that's like me going on a murdering spree in a village and getting promoted to chieftain for it. What type of idiot would do that?" Aang shifted uneasily, not comfortable with how he was acting.

"Look." Said Joshua, coming over and leaning towards him.

"This is all I want you to do. Give me that psychopathic bitch, okay? Let me have her, I promise I'll make her squeal. Hell, I'll give you the body when I'm done, just let me stick her." Joshua's eyes began to bounce, the pupils dilating and focusing. Aang tried to move back, but Joshua grabbed his shoulders.

"Give her to me." He said, his voice demanding. Aang shook his head, putting a hand behind his back and accumulating a ball of air.

"Let go of me." Ordered Aang, trying to be stern. Joshua sighed, his grip relaxing slightly.

"Alright, alright. Relax kid, I figured you'd do something like this. Okay, okay, you got me, I won't make you give her to me. In fact, I'll do you a favor." He said. Aang narrowed his eyes, still disturbed that Joshua's hands were on his shoulders. The ball of air still sat in his hand behind his back.

"And what's that?" He asked.

"I'll give you Jack." He said. Aang tilted his head.

"What?" He said, the ball of air disappearing.

"You heard me kid, I'll give you Jack. I'll point you in the right direction, and then you'll know all about him. Just don't say I didn't warn you." He said. Aang was still confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused, but Joshua put a finger to his lips.

"Shhhh. It's okay kid, it's okay. Things are about to change here, and probably not the best for you, but just remember, I gave you a choice."

Aang felt a sharp prick on the back of his neck. He smacked Joshua's hand away, his mind beginning to cloud.

"Wa… What's happening?" Asked Aang as spots danced before his eyes. Joshua smiled at him, his eyes glowing red.

"Don't worry kid, you'll wake up with a big, nasty, headache but other than that you'll be ship shape." Aang tried to throw a blast of air at Joshua, but he missed wide, sending a chair flying instead. He stumbled forward, knocking into another chair. He fell to the ground, his world spinning. Joshua kneeled down next to him, his face dripping blood.

"Things are going to get a little hectic soon, but don't worry, I don't have anything against you or that pretty little piece of meat you like to parade around. Stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours, all right?" Aang looked at him strangely, watching as black ooze began to drip out of his eyes, then everything turned black.

* * *

Toph and Zuko sat in her old room, perfect and pristine. Toph had managed to avoid both a bath and a change of clothes, but only with Zuko's aid. She did not seem very appreciative though.

Currently she was trying to stare a hole straight through Zuko's head with her unseeing eyes. Zuko, on the other hand, tried avoiding her blind gaze by looking about at the room, designed to allow Toph to navigate around easily. Her dresser drawer was on the left side of her bed, a marble desk, unused, sat to the right. The rest of the room was bare, save a rug and carving on the wall of the Bei Fong family symbol, crafted in three dimensions in order that Toph could conceive an accurate image in her mind. Along the wall by the window sat a shelf of dolls, all pristine and dressed in a mismatch of colors. No doubt Toph had played with them at some time, though he found the idea of Toph playing with dolls to be just as terrifying as Azula playing with dolls. One doll in particular, dressed along the same line of the blind bandit, sat off to the side, away from all the other dolls.

Zuko guessed that this had some significance to Toph, but was loath to say anything, lest he upset the fragile peace that lay on the room. It was okay though, because Toph would destroy it all by herself.

Toph walked over to the marble desk, running her hand along the smooth surface.

"You know, when I was first learning Earthbending, I broke my other desk. When my parents came in and saw what had happened I told them that I had been sitting on it and it had broken. I got in trouble, you know, you're not supposed to sit on the furniture. They yelled at me a little, but that was about it." Toph snorted.

"I can't believe they were stupid enough to believe that I broke a marble desk by sitting on it. I mean, come on, what did I weigh, fifty-pounds, at the most?" Zuko was reluctant to join in on the conversation, afraid that he would set her off. Toph nodded her head, curling her fingers into a fist.

"No, a fifty-pound girl could not break a desk like this, but the blind bandit sure could." She said, raising her fist and bringing it crashing down on the marble desk. It shattered into a thousand pieces, debris flying everywhere. Zuko's ears rang as the thunderous clap left the room, dust settling on the perfectly ordered room. The sound of feet scuttling outside the door reached his bleeding ears. Mommy's coming.

Mrs. Bei Fong rushed through the door, looking around at the mess.

"What in heaven's name happened child?" Asked Mrs. Bei Fong, looking at Toph. Toph shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't rightly know mummy, I was just sitting on the desk, and it broke." She said. Mrs. Bei Fong raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think me a fool child?" Toph snorted.

"What do you think?" She replied scathingly. Zuko cringed at the animosity, noticing the pained expression on Mrs. Bei Fong's face. She opened her mouth, then shut it, apparently choking on emotion.

"Supper will be ready soon." She managed, her voice choked. Her footsteps echoed down the hall as she scuttled out of the room, leaving Toph and Zuko alone once again. Zuko looked at Toph, her shoulders slumped. He stood up, moving to speak, but Toph held out a hand.

"Hold it right there Sparky. You better think long and hard about what you're going to say, because if it don't come out right you may find yourself a more permanent fixture in this house." Zuko had no clue what the threat meant, but it was spoken so matter-o-factly that he assumed it was something nasty. He stopped and thought for a moment, praying that the words he was about to speak would not be his end.

"Toph, I know that you've been hurt by your parents. And, believe me, I know what that feels like, but you can't treat them with such contempt." He said, hoping Toph would respect his audacity. She did not.

She whirled on him, anger burning in her eyes.

"What would you possibly know about being smothered, huh? You were an outcast, your own father disowned you. He threw you out and left you alone in the world. My parents, on the other hand, never showed me such a kindness. They kept me locked up, dressing me up and parading me around just like one of those stupid dolls!" She said, pointing over to the shelf.

"You don't know what it's like to be me, so stop pretending. Compared to me your life was a cake-walk." Zuko's hands began to shake, his ire rising. He knew that Toph was upset, but she had no right making a stab like that at him, not after all he had been through.

"Look, I don't know if you've forgotten or never knew, but for your information I have a blatant scar on the side of my face!" He shouted, taking her hand and putting it over his deformed eye.

"Now you can call it a luxury being humiliated in front of the hierarchy of your nation, you may call it a gift to be disowned, scarred, and thrown out by your own father, and you may think it fun to be sent on an impossible task in order to try and redeem yourself, but I don't! So if you think for one second that I don't know what it feels like to be abused by my parents then you're damn wrong!" He yelled.

"You better get your act together kid, because your parents aren't always going to be here, and when their gone, and you can't make things right anymore, you won't have anyone to blame but yourself." Zuko stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He went out into the hall, making his way to the backyard, wanting to get his anger out before supper.

Marching through the garden Zuko came up to the wall. He climbed over, making his way towards somewhere deserted. Eventually he found a little brook, trees bordering the sides and stones sitting in the current. He took a quick look around, satisfied that no one was around, and then started pouring his frustrations out on the water, throwing fireball after fireball into it, his anger fueling him once again.

After exhausting himself with an unending barrage of fire Zuko sat down in the water, panting. Jack told him that when he got angry he usually slipped into a tirade of profanity. Zuko, thankfully, did not suffer from such a shortcoming, but when he became excessively angry or upset he needed a release valve, and he found exerting himself with trying to destroy a water source to be most satisfying. Steam billowed up at him, coercing sweat from his pours. He leaned back, resting his head against a tree, letting the lower half of his body rest in the water.

Zuko allowed himself to think of Toph once more, wishing now that he had not been so short with her. He just could not help himself. She was being a little brat, and when it came to family issues he did not have much tolerance for surliness or aloofness. With his own family so disparate he had trouble containing himself when someone else encountered a family discourse that had a rather simple resolution. In Toph's case all she had to do was to swallow her pride and apologize, hopefully opening the door for better communication between both parties. However, thinking of the solution and actually getting Toph to act out on it were two entirely separate things. You could lead an ostrich-horse to water, but you could not make it drink.

Zuko dragged his hands across his face. If he had it his way he would beat the girl until she complied, but that was not the way that his uncle would want him to do it. Besides, he was pretty sure that if he tried that method he would be on the receiving end of the beating, not the one giving it. He groaned.

"Why is this so complicated?" He said aloud to himself, watching as a little green bird hopped about from branch to branch above him.

Zuko watched closely, trying to keep his eye on the nimble little creature. It moved about with grace and agility, moving from one branch to another without any real purpose. All of a sudden a larger form of the bird came up to it, calling out to it. The little bird turned and flew away, following the larger one to who knows where. A thought struck him at that moment.

What if he was doing it wrong? Instead of forcing the little one to her parents, what if he forced her parents to the little one? Zuko stood up, giving a silent prayer of thanks for this new development in tactics. He would not get Toph to start it, he would get her parents to, thus putting all the pressure on Toph to make amends. She would have to, or at least that is what he hoped. If not he would just be making things a whole lot worse in the Bei Fong family.

Zuko went to Appa and retrieved a dry pair of clothing, changing and hoping that nobody was taking sneak peeks at the weird kid changing on top of a furry beast. After he had rid himself of his wet cloths he hopped off, making his way back towards the house, surprised to see that the debris from his and Toph's scuff had already been cleared away. He made his way to the house, walking through the back door just in time to hear Toph's voice.

"What do you mean he can't make it?!" She shouted. "I'm his daughter for goodness sakes! Besides the fact I helped save the world and all! You'd think he show a little decency and set some time aside for me." She said. Zuko made his way towards the dining hall, the source of the noise. He heard Mrs. Bei Fong's subdued voice echo down the hall.

"I'm sorry dear, but he has his business to look after. He's in an important meeting at the moment." She said. Zuko could hear Toph's irritated grunt.

"Whatever, not like I wanted him to be here anyways." Zuko walked in, finding Toph and Mrs. Bei Fong at opposing ends of the dining table. He stood at the entrance awkwardly for a second or so, wondering if he should not just go back the way he came. Mrs. Bei Fong noticed him, a smile spreading across her lips, though no doubt it was just a façade.

"Fire-Lord Zuko, please, do join us. We were just waiting for you." She said, standing up and bustling over to a chair beside her daughter, pulling it back and offering it to him. Toph snorted.

"Mum, I think that the Fire-Lord can managed seating himself." She said. Mrs. Bei Fong shot her daughter a look, though she could not see it. She turned back and continued smiling at Zuko.

"Please, don't mind her, I am just being a good host." She said. Zuko walked up and sat down, thanking Mrs. Bei Fong for her hospitality. He leaned in and gave Toph an elbow.

"Behave." He hissed. Toph grunted, folding her arms and sinking down into her chair further, her shoulders slumped. He rolled his eyes; she was such a pain.

Mrs. Bei Fong sat down, clapping her hands. Servants began bustling in and out of the dining room carrying steaming trays and chalices filled with expensive wine. Toph received what appeared to be grape juice, confirmed when she snorted at it. Zuko took up his chalice, the marble adorned with green emeralds. He sloshed the liquid around, sniffing it. It was definitely wine. He took a sip, pleased at the rich texture. Soon the little trio was eating, diving into plates of meats and vegetables, fruit tarts and soups. Zuko did his best to eat with the proper decorum, but Toph seemed not to care.

She tore into her food with her hands, eating with her mouth open and burping several times without excuse. Chunks of unsavory food she merely spat out, washing down the bad taste by grabbing Zuko's chalice, filled with wine. Her mother raised an eyebrow.

"Young lady, we have company." She said. Toph laughed, responding with her mouth full.

"Like it would make much a difference if we didn't. You'd still yell at me." She said, continuing to eat in such a manner. When again she reached for Zuko's chalice he pulled it away, unwilling to share the intoxicating liquid.

"Hey, give it here sparky." Said Toph, holding her hand out. Zuko shook his head.

"No, drink your grape juice." He said, taking a dignified sip from his wine, returning to his meat with knife and chopsticks. Toph frowned.

"I don't want grape juice, I want wine. Give it here." She said, lunging for the chalice. Zuko pulled it out of her reach.

"Toph, I do not think that you are old enough to have wine." Said her mother. Toph sat back.

"What, afraid that I'll get blind drunk?" She said. Her mother froze, shocked at the comment. She sat back, her face downcast. Zuko leaned over, elbowing her hard.

"Lay off of it." He hissed, next to her ear for emphasis. Toph ignored him, slumping down in her chair, arms crossed. Zuko bit his tongue. Why was she so stubborn? He was sick and tired of dealing with this but he had to get something rolling here, it just felt as if at every turn he was getting outdone by Toph's grumpiness. This was going to take a little more finesse.

Mrs. Bei Fong looked up at the two of them, setting her chopsticks down with a slight clatter.

"So, uhm, how long have you two been together?" She asked. Toph prodded at her plate.

"Ever since sparky here decided to stop being a dip and help us out. He was the one who trained Aang in firebending." Her mother nodded her head slowly.

"And how long have you two been dating?" She asked. Zuko choked on his wine. Toph hacked up a piece of meat, coughing.

"We're, we're not together." Said Zuko, hesitantly. Toph nodded her head.

"Ya, we're definitely not together, I mean, come on mom, I'm only thirteen." Replied Toph. Her mother shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry, I just figured since you two had come all alone, without the avatar, that you two were together." Zuko looked at Toph, who in turn was sticking out her tongue. No doubt the same thought was rushing through her mind; them, together, it was just so disturbing. A shiver passed through Zuko's body, which made Toph pause.

"Alright sparky, you can stop pretending it's that bad." Said Toph. Zuko blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry." Her mother looked over at them, then picked up her chopsticks, returning her attention to her meal.

"Besides, you will be of marrying age in one month, so I guess I just thought that you had sorted it all out on your own. Apparently you have not, so I will have to give my attention to that issue once more." The sound of Toph grinding her teeth made Zuko cringe. The pair of chopsticks in her hand snapped in two, one of the pieces smacking him on the forehead.

"Excuse me?" Said Toph in a low menacing voice. Her mother did not meet her blind stare.

"I just said since you will not be attending to your marriage on your own that I will sort it out, you don't have to worry about it." Toph drug her hand slowly across the marble table, making deep grooves.

"What makes you think I want you to arrange my marriage?" She asked, trying to keep it together. Her mother dabbed at the corner of her cheeks with a napkin.

"It's not a matter of you wanting me to or not young lady, it is tradition; every Bei Fong daughter has been married at fourteen, and to great success. I had persuaded your father to allow you to choose a husband, but since you have so flaunted that responsibility I believe I shall handle it." Zuko braced himself for Toph's reaction.

Toph stood up abruptly, sending her marble chair flying back into the wall, shattering with a thunderous clap.

"How dare you!" Said Toph. Her mother stood up, fury burning in her eyes.

"You insolent pup!" Toph smashed her hand against the table, splitting it clean in two.

"Silence!" She yelled. Her mother stood stoic, unflinching despite her daughter's outburst.

"Young lady, I will give you till the count of five to collect yourself." Toph gripped her small fingers into little balls.

"Don't you dare." She growled.

"One."

"I'm warning you!"

"Two."

"You'll regret this."

"Three."

"Don't."

"Four."

"That's it." With one rigid movement Toph sent the two halves of the table flying through the walls, a mess of debris falling everywhere. Zuko coughed, trying to get a breath that was not filled with dust.

"Five." Said Mrs. Bei Fong, staring at them through the dust, perfectly calm. Toph began to shake, her rage clearly apparent. Zuko looked up at Mrs. Bei Fong, noticing her calm countenance, still perfectly fine though her daughter had just destroyed her dining room.

"Young lady, I do believe we need to have a talk." Toph threw up her hands.

"Isn't this what we are doing?!" She cried. Her mother shook her head.

"If you don't mind Fire-Lord, I would like a moment alone with my daughter." Zuko hesitated a second, then got up to leave. Toph stomped her foot, encasing him up to the neck in earth.

"No, whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of him." She said. Mrs. Bei Fong sighed.

"Very well. Toph, this behavior is totally unacceptable." She said. Zuko cringed; wrong thing to say. Toph fumed silently for a moment, the only sounds emanating from her were her short breath and the creak of her knuckles as she tried to remain calm.

"Unacceptable? My behavior is…unacceptable? What behavior are you talking about mother? This behavior?" She asked, motioning to the room. "Or are you talking about the other behavior, the one where I ran away from you and saved the world!" She yelled, the walls shaking. Mrs. Bei Fong seemed a bit caught off guard.

"Toph, you need to calm down, you are making yourself upset." Toph let loose a caustic laugh.

"I'm upsetting me? I'm sorry, I forgot that I locked myself up for the first twelve years of my life. And it must have been me who prevented me from having a single friend, or trying anything that was too strenuous for my fragile body. It must have been me who forbade me from leaving with the avatar, because obviously I wouldn't like to travel around the world and help people while training the avatar and then stopping the fire-lord later on. Ya, obviously I wouldn't want to do that, I might do something beneficial for society." Mrs. Bei Fong sat stunned, her mouth opened slightly. Toph plowed right ahead.

"Wait a minute, that wasn't me, that was you! It was you that locked me up for twelve years, depriving me of everything that makes childhood worthwhile. Heck, I would have preferred we were poor, at least then I might have been able to do something, but no, I had to be born to a pompous, rich family. Well, tell you what, let's settle things my way. You beat me in a fight and I'll stay, I win and I get to move on, sound fair?" Mrs. Bei Fong blinked, recovering herself.

"Toph I'm not going to fight you." She said simply. Toph snorted.

"Damn right you aren't." Her mother put a hand to her mouth.

"Young lady, watch your mouth!" She said. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Geesh mum, wish I could, but, you know, blind and all." She said, pointing to her eyes. Her mother's cheeks burnt bright red.

"Toph, I am not going to put up with anymore of your sass, I think you need some time to cool off." Toph crossed her arms.

"Is that so, mother? Well, what are you going to do about it?" She asked. Mrs. Bei Fong opened her mouth, then shut it, realizing that she had lost any power that she had once held over Toph. She was not the helpless little blind girl that she thought she had been. She was strong, and able to take care of herself, thus severing any fear of her mother, as she did not need her. And since she had not been the idealistic mother she did not have the respect that usually led children to obey, even when they did not agree.

Mrs. Bei Fong opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She looked at Toph, ignoring Zuko as if he was not even there.

"I will disown you." She said, using the one last threat that she possessed. Toph took a step forward, caught off guard by this threat.

"You'll what!?" She demanded, irate. Mrs. Bei Fong held herself with the poise of a dignified lady.

"Your behavior has been unacceptable of late, unbecoming for a young lady. You have flaunted all of our rules and demands, brushing them off. You have possessed deaf ears and an insolent tongue, and so, now that you have shown your reluctance to recant for your actions I am left with no choice but to severe you from the family. The Bei Fong's are of the highest class, and you are not worthy of carrying on that mantle." Toph shook. A single tear streaked down her cheek, hidden by shaggy hair.

"Mother…" Mrs. Bei Fong bowed.

"Goodbye Ms. Toph, it was a pleasure having you for dinner." And with that she left, leaving Zuko and Toph all alone in the destroyed dining room. Zuko blinked, stunned by what had just transpired. His heart raced as he thought of all the vile things Toph was liable to do to him after that fiasco, but she merely turned and walked away, leaving Zuko encased in his little earthen mound. Dropping his head he let it hit against the top of the mound with a thunk.

"Idiot."

* * *

A heavy fog lay over his mind, haunting dark thoughts plaguing his sleep. Crying out Aang realized that he had no air in his lungs. Sucking at air all he got back was a thick black ooze. It ran down his throat and seeped into his lungs, making him choke. He thrashed and kicked, the pain seizing him, Fighting he tried to get out, but the ooze had become an overwhelming tide, taking him under. There was nothing he could do, it was the end, he had failed.

"Aang!" The call was distant, bleak, obscured by the ooze. A hand grabbed him, shaking him.

"Aang, wake up!" Slowly the blackness began to subside. The voice became clearer, concern permeating every syllable.

"Aang, please wake up! Come on!" Aang gasped, sitting up straight. His head spun, little dots dancing before his vision. A burning sensation sat in his lungs.

"What…what's going on?" He asked, gasping at air. A pair of warm hands enveloped him, squeezing him tightly.

"Ohh Aang, you're alright!" Said Katara, tears dripping down her face. Aang tried to move, smothered by her embrace. Eventually Katara noticed it, being courteous enough to give him some room.

"Aang, what in the world happened?" She asked. Aang blinked, looking at her face. A vision of bleeding eyes passed through his mind.

"I…I don't really know." He said. He looked around, noticing that almost everyone else was there. Mai and Ty-Lee stood to the side, concern plastered across their faces. Sokka looked at him with relief, obviously feeling that he was partially responsible since he had seen him last. Katara looked at him, her big blue eyes pleading with him.

"There was this guy, he started talking to me." Started Aang. Everyone exchanged a confused look.

"A guy?" Said Sokka. Mai looked at him.

"Was he one of the servants?" She asked. Aang shook his head.

"No, he wasn't one of the servants, he was wearing all black, and he was covered in scars. I think that I would have remembered that." Mai and Ty-Lee exchanged a quick glance.

"That doesn't sound like any of the servants I know." Said Ty-Lee. Mai shook her head.

"It must have been someone from the outside. Maybe one of our guests that have graced us with their company over the past few weeks finally got in." Said Mai, referring to the endless mob of people that crowded at the palace gates, trying to get a glimpse of the avatar. Aang nodded, forgetting the crowd. They had been too busy with the festivities last night to notice the avatar wondering about their streets, well, most of them.

"What did he want Aang?" Asked Katara. Aang looked back at her, remembering his strange conversation with Joshua.

"He wanted to help me, by giving me a choice." Said Aang, half to himself. The others stared at him, befuddled.

"Help you? What can he help you with, you're the avatar?" Said Sokka, voicing everyone's opinion.

"Ya, and what choice could he present?" Added Mai. Aang shook his head.

"He told me that I could either aid evil or deliver justice." Said Aang. The others looked at him.

"Deliver justice, to whom?" Asked Katara. Aang took in a deep breath, afraid to say it aloud, as Ty-Lee still seemed to be fond of her.

"Azula." He said. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"I can buy that. Can't say I agree locking her up, not after everything that she did. There's been a few times that I wished I had killed her back in that prison, you know, when we broke Katara out." Said Sokka.

"Hey, I remember that!" Said Ty-Lee, pausing as she looked at Katara. An embarrassed look crossed her face.

"Sorry." She said, blushing. Katara glared at her for a second.

"I'm still not over that." She said. Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Girls, come on, let's focus on the issue here." He said. "Some random guy came up to Aang and warned him that he could either aid Azula or deliver her over to justice. What in the world is this about?" Asked Sokka. Aang shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know." He said. Sokka glared at him.

"Well what did you say? Surely you told him that Azula was going to get what was hers" He said. Aang turned red, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, not exactly." He said. A sharp stab of pain shot through him as he went over a bump on his neck. Wincing he pulled his hand away, regretting that he did not think of the prick earlier. Katara jumped.

"Aang, are you okay, what's wrong!?" She said. Aang resisted the urge to itch the area, now that the pain had passed.

"It's nothing, it's just that guy, he poked me with something on the back of the neck, that's how I was knocked out." He said, turning to Sokka. He began stroking his chin.

"What do you mean not exactly?" He asked.

"Well, I kinda of told him no, and that it was up to Zuko, but then he became really angry, saying that putting Zuko in charge after he had done everything he did was really bad." Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"So this guy doesn't like Zuko either?" Asked Sokka. Mai shrugged her shoulders.

"That's no big deal, there's a lot of people who don't like him." Aang scratched the back of his head, letting Katara check out the prick on the back of his neck.

"Well, I think he might know him a little better. He called him Zuzu." Said Aang. Katara's hands paused.

"He used his pet name?" Said Katara. Again Mai shrugged, though this time she seemed a bit more thrown off.

"It's probably some old acquaintance of Azula who's trying to bust her out." She said. Sokka shook his head.

"No offense, but none of this helps us that much. Sure, now we know that he might have been associated with Azula, but that's a lot of people. Let's try this from a different angle. What was this guy like? You said he had a bunch of scars and was wearing black, but what else can you describe about him?" Aang thought for a moment, remembering Joshua's crazed look.

"He was really tall, and lanky, like you." He said. Sokka crossed his arms, offended.

"I'm not lanky, I'm just in shape." He said, feeling that his arms were an entirely inadequate size at the current moment. He tried to flex them a bit harder, no one was buying it. Katara rolled her eyes, returning her attention to Aang.

"What else?" She asked.

"Well, he had blue eyes, and two fire-nation symbols, one on each shoulder. I think that they were branded on." Said Aang, wincing at the thought of searing hot metal melting into his soft skin. Mai perked up, taking notice of Aang's story.

"Anything else?" Asked Katara. Aang nodded his head, recalling the oddest fact.

"I can't be a hundred percent certain, but I think that he had blonde hair." Said Aang. Sokka and Katara exchanged a look, not buying it. Ty-Lee's eyes widened, her mouth flying open. A gloved hand covered it. She looked over, noticing Mai, her finger pressed to her lips. Shutting her mouth, Ty-Lee tried to appear normal, but she was still bouncing around, which, albeit, was basically normal for Ty-Lee. Aang noticed the exchange.

"Do you know something Ty-Lee?" Asked Aang. Everyone turned to her. She stuttered for a moment, looking over at Mai for direction. Mai shook her head ever so slightly.

"No, I was just thinking how pretty blonde hair must be!" She chirped, a grin across her face. Katara sighed.

"As usual you're totally useless." Ty-Lee looked hurt by her remark, but Sokka smacking Katara in the back of the head made her feel a bit better.

"Knock it off Katara." He said. She turned around and stared him down, but she did not retaliate. While the others turned back to Aang Mai motioned for Ty-Lee to follow, the two exiting the room.

"So, we're looking for a guy with blue eyes, fire-nation tattoos."

"They were brands." Corrected Aang. Sokka waved a hand at him.

"Whatever." He said, moving on. "Fire-nation brands, blonde hair, tall, lanky and likes to wear black. Great, we can make posters of this guy, we'll call him the fire-shadow!" Said Sokka. Aang and Katara looked at each other, a moment later bursting into laughter. Sokka sat indignantly, waiting for them to get it out.

"You know." Said Aang, recovering himself. "We could just call him Joshua, he told me his name." Said Aang. Sokka huffed.

"Probably was a lie, why would he tell you his real name if he wanted to attack you?" He said.

"He wasn't attacking me Sokka, he was warning me." Replied Aang. Katara sat thoughtfully for a moment.

"Wait a minute, did you say Joshua?" She asked. Aang nodded his head.

"Ya, what of it?" He asked. Katara turned to him.

"Remember when we first got Jack? He was delirious with a fever and he mumbled in his sleep a lot. Remember what name he sat their mumbling over and over again?" She asked. Aang's face lit up as he recalled.

"Joshua." He said. Sokka shrugged his shoulders, annoyed that he had not thought of it first.

"There's probably millions of Joshua's in the world, it can't be the same guy." Aang and Katara stared at him.

"Alright, maybe a thousand." Said Sokka. They continued to stare.

"Alright granted, he might be the only Joshua in the whole world. But how do we know that this is the guy Jack was mumbling about?" He asked.

"Maybe because he came to warn me about him?" Said Aang.

"Wait, what?" Said Katara.

"I thought he wanted you to give up Azula." Said Sokka. Aang rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Well, after I said no he told me he was going to help out. He warned me about Jack, and said that he'd point me in the right direction." Katara raised an eyebrow.

"Where did he say to go?" Aang suddenly realized that Joshua had not told him.

"I don't think he did say." Replied Aang. Sokka shook his head.

"This was probably some nut." He said. He turned around, his interest in the conversation faltering. He would just go make his posters, that should help. Katara looked at Aang.

"You know, Sokka's right. There's really no reason to doubt Jack. He is a diamondbender, and he has amnesia, so there's not much to question about his past since he doesn't remember it. Besides, if he knew that Jack wasn't who he was pretending to be he would have told you who he really was." Said Katara. Aang shifted, noticing something in his hand. He lifted it up, opening his fist to find a piece of paper. Katara leaned in.

"What's that?" She asked. Aang shook his head, opening it up. There was one name scrawled across it. Ty-Lee.

"What?" Said Katara, stunned. Aang was stunned as well.

"Ty-Lee? What would she know about Jack?" Aang shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but I plan on finding out."

* * *

The air was teeming with tension. He could swear that he saw sparks flashing through the air. That, or it was coming from her fingertips. Taking a closer look he realized that it was actually coming from her fingertips. Sparks of blue lightning jumped from her nails, dancing around the edge of her fingers, bouncing from one finger to the next in a little arc. Jack snorted.

"Show off." He muttered. Azula grinned at him.

"You've always been jealous of my skills." She said, bouncing the lightning from hand to hand. Jack picked up a bit of dirt from the ground. Using his unique set of skills he turned it into a little blue diamond, shining bright, shaped in the form of a heart. He broke it in half, tossing one to Azula. She caught it without looking. Opening her hand she saw the half heart, only to see it turn to ash.

"You did that, you know." He said, showing her the still intact half he held in his hand. She glowered at him.

"If you would try, we could fix it." Said Jack. The elements began to collect around the piece, melding into it with a flicker of light. Another half began to form, shaping itself onto the solitary half. A bolt of lightning went clean through it, disrupting the process and sending the other diamond flying. Jack stared at his now empty hand, turning to see Azula's smoking fingertips.

"Like I said, if you tried." He said, leaning up against the wall. He allowed his body to slide down to the ground, where he sat and stared at her, wondering where it all went wrong. Azula looked at him then turned, muttering something to herself. She shifted around for a while, poking around at what was left in her room after her last episode.

Charred items littered the floor, burnt books laying in piles of ash, a fetid stench permeated the cell, smoke. Once a week Zuko had her cell cleaned up and her things replaced, only so that she could destroy them again as the week went by. The only things that ever survived her mindless rage were the bed, and her closet of clothes, which Zuko had been kind enough to send to her. At the moment she was in her normal attire, the only thing out of place was the state of her raven black hair, tufts of it strewn about wildly, the golden head piece sitting awkwardly to one side, off-balanced.

Jack sighed. He could not help but feel sorry for her when he saw her like this, only a husk of what she used to be, her mind so jumbled from recent events that she could barely think straight, and even when she could it usually came to how everyone betrayed her, and how she was alone in the world. It was truly pitiful.

At the moment she sat at her cabinet, looking through her clothes. She muttered to herself, displeased by the lack of choices, though there must have been at least thirty different outfits. Turning back towards Jack she gazed at him, seeming to play around with something. An argument seemed to come up, between the two sides of her. He had seen this before, it always proceeded a venture into their past lives, something he did not relish. Coming to a decision Azula strode over, carrying herself with the elegant poise she was known for. Looking down at him she smiled, a sweet and tempting look.

"So, you're here." She started. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Azula, I've been here the whole time. I've been here for weeks! I come to see you every day." He said. Azula waved him off, dismissing the notion.

"Please, you may have been here physically but you weren't truly here, you were somewhere else, weren't you?" She said. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Try to remember Azula, I don't talk crazy. At least, not anymore" A pained look shot across her face and immediately he wished that he could take it back, but it had been said and there was nothing he could do about it now. Azula seemed to brush it off, obviously a bit hurt by his comment.

"What I mean, street-rat." She said, animosity dripping in her voice. "Is that you really have not been here, you've been in the past. All you've been trying to do so far is to move the pieces back, back to another time when you imagined yourself happy." She said. Jack opened his mouth to speak, then thought of it for a moment. Was she right? Had he just been trying to move backwards? Azula kept going, seeing the debate raging in his mind.

"The problem is that the past is gone and dead, you can't have it back." She said. Jack nodded his head. Alright, that seemed logical, he was not going to bring back Amy, no matter how many times he talked to her.

"So the thing you should be asking yourself is not what can you reclaim, but what can you make?" Jack looked at her, noticing a different appearance on her face. It seemed more calm than previously, truth and honesty dancing across it. She actually seemed genuine, as if she was saying this not only for him but for herself as well. Perhaps she was trying to start over, to mend old hurts.

"Things were pretty bad between us." Said Azula. Jack looked up at her.

"Are." He corrected.

"They can get better." She responded.

"You imprisoned and tortured me." He said.

"And I am sorry for that, truly I am." She said. Jack fought off the rising tide of emotion. His heart was telling him that she was being honest, that she really was sorry for what happened, but his mind was screaming at him not to trust her, to watch out. Half of him wanted to laugh at her, half of him wanted to beat the tar out of her, and half of him wanted to believe her, so one could imagine the ambivalence that he was currently confronting, in possession of three halves of himself. Azula kept on.

"I know that I've done a lot of things that aren't amiable, and to be frank some of them were down right barbarous, but I want to move on." She said, her golden eyes pleading with him. Jack rolled his eyes, a motion that Azula was not oblivious to.

"It's not like you've been such an angel yourself." She replied, reading his thoughts. Jack looked up at her, his heart racing.

"I was receiving the reports Jack. All those mysterious deaths and disappearances, some of them were the earth-kingdom, but be honest here, a lot of them were you." She said. Jack did not object.

"And whatever did happen to Korin?" She asked. Jack twitched, lowering his eyes. Azula nodded her head slowly.

"I see, well, I guess that was to be expected, I was not all that forgiving myself when those close to me began to betray me. Believe me, there were a few times I wanted to execute them myself." She said, offering a slight chuckle. Jack did not look up. She was getting to him, her words were sinking in deep, finding chinks in his armor. He wanted to believe her, he wanted to so bad, but his mind was setting off anything that could ring to warn him, he had to leave now, but he could not, he just could not accept it. This is what he had been hoping for all along, that she was actually sorry for what she did and that she wanted to make amends. Everything she was saying was exactly how he wanted it to be. Not some sappy break down with weepy tears; no that was not Azula, but rather a stiff, yet heartfelt, apology that demonstrated the similarities in their character. It was getting to him, and Azula knew it.

"Look, I know that I've been anything but trustworthy in the past, and I'm the last person that deserves your forgiveness, but perhaps we can at least start anew, right here right now." She said, a gentle smile on her face. Jack looked up at her, tears brimming in his eyes. His body shook violently as he saw her outstretched hand. He wanted to grab it and make amends; he wanted to rip her apart and end it all; he did not know what he wanted and she knew it.

"Azula." He choked, trying to get a grip. She went down to her knees, looking him in the eyes. He looked back at her, staring deep into her sparkling golden eyes, their rich hues swallowing him whole.

"I…" Jack stopped, not able to go on. Azula put a hand on his shoulder, a calm, reassuring hand.

"You don't have to do anything right now, but let's just call this a new beginning." She said, standing up and walking back over to her bed. She sat down, her back to Jack. He watched as her shoulders shook softly, perhaps in sorrow, or was it mirth? He could not tell.

Standing up on shaky legs he made a move to go over to Azula, he did not know what he was going to do. Hit her? Kill her? Hug her? He did not know, but before he could get there he was interrupted by something at the door. A sharp slicing sound echoed in the little cell, the cell door falling down on the floor with a thunderous crash.

Jack and Azula both turned towards the door, stunned. A solitary figure dusted his hands off, a wide toothy grin spread across his face.

"Well, well, well, if this ain't a reunion then I don't know what is. Now look, you don't have to get all teary eyed just because I showed up" Jack looked at the face, recognizing the figure instantly.

"Joshua."


	4. Lunatic Abroad

**Chapter IV**

Zuko shook slightly as he stood outside the door. He had broken his way out of the little earthen mound without much effort, but now he stood outside Mrs. Bei Fong's room shaking, trying to get control of his limbs. The plan was to talk with her and convince her not to disown Toph and that everything was really his fault, but at the moment his will power was failing him. Lacking proper social skills Zuko was just not prepared for this. This required finesse, tact, and subtle cajoling, three categories that he failed miserably at. If only Azula was present at the moment, she would be able to sweet talk her way out of this situation, just like she used to sweet talk her way out of a spanking.

The thought of Azula gave Zuko pause. He had rather neglected her since becoming Fire-Lord, focusing his attention on the immediate duties set before him. Here he was talking about mending broken families and relationships and he was neglecting to do just that. Heck, Jack was giving it a better shot than him, and Azula had tortured him for a couple of years.

_What would mother think of all this?_ He image of his mother flashed through his mind, her beautiful raven black hair flowing gently in the breeze as they sat outside together underneath the cherry tree, feeding the turtle-ducks. He knew deep down that he was never going to see her again, and that simple truth brought to him the resolve he needed to open the door. Breathing in deeply he reached out a hand, rapping quietly on the door. The sound of someone shuffling alerted him to Mrs. Bei Fong's presence, and a few seconds later she opened the door.

Her eyes were red and puffy, her makeup slightly smudged. She held a tissue in her hand, which she had probably been using to dab at her tears. A look of utter exhaustion and defeat lay on her face, and seeing Zuko seemed only to worsen the mood.

"Ohh, Fire-Lord, I'm sorry, I do fear that the night has went terribly wrong." She said, stepping out into the hall with him, letting the door close shut. Zuko cleared his throat.

"Mrs. Bei Fong, I just wanted to apologize, for everything." He started, but she held up a hand, cutting him off.

"No, don't do that. I know that you brought that girl along just to try and round her out, but there's no use. You can't get through to her, she's as stubborn as the earth she bends." Said Mrs. Bei Fong, dabbing at a tear. Zuko shifted uncomfortably.

"Mrs. Bei Fong, I think that you really upset her tonight." Said Zuko. Mrs. Bei Fong looked shocked.

"I upset her? Was I the one eating in such a disgusting manner or destroying the dining room and her room? I do not think so. No, she has no right to be upset with me. Running away like that and ruining all my plans." She said, looking off to the side. An idea struck him. He held out his hand.

"Take a walk with me." He said. Mrs. Bei Fong looked at him suspiciously for a moment but eventually she grabbed his hand, if not with some hesitation. He led her down the hall tacitly, making his way back over to Toph's room. It was dark, so he let go of Mrs. Bei Fong and lit one of his fists, illuminating the room.

"Ohh my, that is nice isn't it?" She said. Zuko smiled.

"You like it? I thought that everyone besides firebenders hated firebending." He said, keeping the flame under control. Mrs. Bei Fong smiled.

"All the elements are beautiful in their true nature, it is when one fractures that nature that they become vile and ugly things." She said. Zuko titled his head. That sounded like something his uncle would say. Shaking his head he focused on the reason he had come. He walked over to the shelf with the little dolls on it, motioning Mrs. Bei Fong to follow. He came up to the doll of the blind bandit, picking it up gingerly.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked. Mrs. Bei Fong leaned in close, staring at the dolls.

"Yes, those are the dolls we got for Toph on her eighth birthday. Even after I taught her how to identify the clothing she still persisted in dressing them all wrong; I gave up on that venture long ago." She said. Zuko shook his head.

"That's not what I meant. I mean, do you know what this is?" He asked again, handing Mrs. Bei Fong the doll this time. She looked closely at it, turning it over in her hands.

"This looks like that horrid outfit that Toph wears." She said. Zuko nodded his head.

"That's because that's supposed to be her. She dressed the doll up like herself because it was the only one that understood her. She set it off to the side because she was all alone in the world." He said, taking the doll back and putting it down away from the other dolls. Mrs. Bei Fong shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, it's not our fault. We did what we could for the poor child, but she's just been so stubborn and obstinate, she never tries to see things from our perspective." Zuko bit his tongue, holding back a disparage against Mrs. Bei Fong. He wanted to tell her straight up that she never tried understanding Toph and that she had been a horrible parent, but he had to be patient, or at least give it a better shot.

"Mrs. Bei Fong, I know that Toph has made quite a mess of things, but you have to admit that you are at least partially responsible for this. I mean, have you ever tried looking at it from her point of view?" Mrs. Bei Fong opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it, thinking for a moment. Zuko pressed ahead while he held the advantage.

"I know she's really stubborn and can be a pain at times, believe me, I know, but she really is sorry for what has happened between you guys. She wants to fix things, but every time she tries to talk to you it all goes back to how she messed everything up and how she's the one causing the problem. I agree that she is part of the problem, but she is not the only problem. Blame has to be taken on your part as well." Mrs. Bei Fong stood still, her face blank. Zuko tried to read her, but there was not even a flicker of thought behind her eyes. For a moment he thought that he might have broken her, but then she burst into a torrent of sobs. She fell down to her knees, sobbing violently.

Zuko took a step back, shocked by her reaction. She had been so stoic at dinner, and even after when she was crying in her room he could tell that she kept it under control, but this, this was just a mess. She balled into her hands, tears cascading down her face as she shook. He reached out a hesitant hand, thinking of what he should do. Eventually he laid it on her shoulder, hoping that it was in a comforting manner.

The two sat like that for a while, until Mrs. Bei Fong began to compose herself. She took in some deep calming breaths, looking up at Zuko with a haggard face, exhausted by the day's events. She shook her head slowly.

"Ohh, fire-lord, what am I to do? I really have messed things up haven't I? What type of parent am I? Never once did I think of her. It was always about me and the family name. I was too concerned about how she would represent the family name that I did not even bother trying to see things from her perspective. Ohh, what am I to do?" Zuko tried to not smile to broadly, glee running through him as his plan finally started to work. He bent down on a knee, taking Mrs. Bei Fong's hands in his own.

"There's only one thing to do Mam, and that's to apologize." He said. Mrs. Bei Fong shook her head.

"How can I apologize for what I have done? I do not think there's enough forgiveness in the world to take away what I've done to that poor girl." Zuko helped her to her feet.

"Well, there's only one way to figure out."

* * *

Toph strode about in the garden, tears falling down her cheek. She brought the back of her hand up to her nose, wiping it with a loud sniff. How could she do this to her?! How dare she, after all she had done for the earth-kingdom and the world that pompous snob had the audacity to disown her? She did not have the type of status worthy of being a Bei Fong? Well fine, then she was too high a status for them! Heck, a chicken-pig would have too much status for a family like this. They would not want to risk giving themselves some actual respectability, now, would they?

Toph continued storming about the garden, tossing boulders about and marching through bushes. Her mother would have another fit, but she did not care. Her mother could do whatever she pleased, but Toph did not have to listen to her ever again, nor would she. She was not part of the family, and if they did not want her then she did not want them.

When Zuko had first brought her here she was a bit terrified that her parents would not forgive her for how she had hurt them. That was why she had been so eager to leave, she wanted to send some messages ahead so that way she could smooth things over before coming out, but Zuko had other plans.

She shook her head as she thought of him. That arrogant little punk, what was he thinking? She was going to drop kick that guy so hard that he was going to have to clear his throat before he farted.

And Jack, how dare he! Toph thought that if it was anyone that she could trust it was him, someone used to being on the outside of love. She had confided in him with some of her most precious secrets and fears, and he turned around and set her up. When she got back she was going to have a little chat with that good for nothing scumbag. He probably was not going to have a family in his life.

Toph continued to fume, stomping and bashing anything that came in her way. She was so frustrated, so aggravated, so pissed off! There seemed no way to make this day any worse.

Slowly, as she got her anger out, she began to calm down. Finally, when her rage had almost fully subsided, she found a little stone bench, taking a seat on it. She shook her head, her hair bouncing about. Wiping her cheeks she took the time to think long and hard about all that had happened.

Sure Zuko had had no business doing what he did, but he had only done it because he had cared. He just had wanted to see her broken relationship mended, that's all. And as for Jack he probably was just looking for the same thing. They had only meant to help, but instead they messed things up terribly. Sighing, Toph leaned on her hand.

Well, maybe that was not true either. Things had only gone the way they did because of the way she had acted. Even when she was free and about with Aang and the others she had never acted like such a slob. Sure, she had burped and scratched and picked her nose, but not in such an excessive manner so as to annoy someone. Thinking back on it she probably had not been all that fair to her mother. Sure she had no right trying to arrange a marriage for her, but that did not mean she had the right to act like a little brat. There was no saying how much damage she had caused with her little tantrum.

She shook her head. If she had just forgiven them and put the burden on them then she would not feel the way she did now. She would have felt better, maybe not happy, but at least she could say that it was not her fault that the relationship was not working. However, right now, she was pretty sure that it was all her fault. She had been the worse child in history, save maybe Azula, but she was basically the worse person in history, so there was not much saying about that.

Toph sighed. She guessed that she was going to have to go and apologize for ruining everything. She shook her head. Why was it when it came to doing anything outside of her family she could succeed, but as soon as her family was involved she messed thing up so bad that you could not see top from bottom.

Standing up she determined to go in and apologize to her mother, and, if necessary, she would actually beg for her forgiveness. She would not stay with them, but at least she would try to set things straight. Walking back down the path towards the house, she let her hands run through the bushes, feeling the drying leaves as the time came for them to fall. Coming across one bush she felt a sharp prick on her finger. Retracting her finger with a little yelp she put it in her mouth, the metallic taste of blood seeping onto her tongue. She did not remember there being any bushes with thorns in the garden.

Suddenly Toph realized that she was not alone. Her mother stood in front of her, her hands folded neatly before her. Toph froze. She had just planned on finding her in order to apologize, but that idea vanished as her anger came back. She just could not help it, she felt so much rage towards her mother, especially now that she was here.

Turning around Toph crossed her arms, putting her back to her mother.

"I don't remember there being any plants with thorns in the garden." She huffed. She could feel her mother as she came closer, bending down on her a knee. She tried to reach for Toph's hand, but she pulled away, turning to face her with the best scowl she could muster. Mrs. Bei Fong sighed.

"I understand now Toph." She said. Toph whirled on her, rage coursing through her body.

"Now you understand? Now, at the end of everything, now you understand? Anyone can get it now that I don't need protection!" Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she let her anger out.

"I needed you to be the first one to believe in me, to encourage me and help me. You were supposed to help me with my disabilities and aid me in my strength, but instead you were detrimental to both." Toph took a second to wipe away her tears. "You didn't understand me when I needed you most, and now, now when I have finally struck out on my own, now you understand. Now you offer aid, but I don't need it. You're my mother! How could you do this to me!?" She cried, turning back around and crossing her arms, crying softly. Mrs. Bei Fong hesitated for a second, then looked at the rosebush, an idea popping in her head.

"When I was your age." She started, standing behind Toph. "Your father bought me those roses. They are a very special type of rose, with green and white petals, though I know you cannot see them. He did it as part of our courtship, and in the end my parents chose him. Not because of the flowers, of course, but for different reasons. His status and wealth, things such as that." Toph snorted, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve.

"If some guy gave me some fancy flowers I'd just smash them. All he was doing was trying to smooth things over with your parents in order to be their favorite, and it looked like it worked." Mrs. Bei Fong shook her head.

"No, that wasn't it at all. When he brought the roses, it was just one small flower. He planted it in the backyard without me knowing, and every night he came over and took care of it. Eventually, when I found it bursting in full bloom, there was a note attached to it. It said that like this flower, he would tend to our love until it burst into full bloom." She said, a smile on her face as she recalled the event. Toph tried to roll her eyes, but it did not turn out all that well.

"Well, that sure explains nothing." She said. Mrs. Bei Fong shook her head.

"There's a reason, if you' just give me the chance." Said her mother. Toph was half tempted to walk away, but she could sense Zuko standing off to her right, about a hundred feet or so away; his arms were crossed. Sighing, Toph stood still, thus signaling her mother that she could continue.

"When we had you, and we found out you were blind, I had the servants remove all the plants with thorns in the garden, especially as you became more and more found of it. However, when it came to this bush, I told them to cut the thorns, and leave the plant. You see, it meant so much to me that I kept it, despite the risk it might mean for you. However, as I realized, I did not do it out of love for you, but rather love for your father, and not wanting to hurt his feelings. And as the years went by with you by our sides that became a pattern for me. I would do things to accommodate your father, not you. I'm sorry to say, but since you were born blind, your father became bitter, and the only solace that he found was in recreating the time before you existed, when our love was our only focus. That is why we treated you the way we did; it was never for you, it was only for us." She said. Tears slowly trickled down Mrs. Bei Fong's cheeks as she gave her confession, laying it all out before her daughter.

"I know that the last thing I deserve is your forgiveness, and that you have every right to hate us, especially me, but after hearing about what you have done, not just for the earth-kingdom but the whole world, I feel that perhaps you have the strength to do what we could not. We could never forgive ourselves for having a blind child, and I've hated every single day that I wasted trying to change you, but I did not have the strength to forgive myself, and neither did your father. I ask for your forgiveness, though I do not expect it." Mrs. Bei Fong sat silent, her head bowed in respect to her daughter's decision, no matter what it be.

Toph stood silent, unmoving. Her breath was calm, and controlled, her muscles loose and relaxed. It seemed that she was undisturbed by her mother's words. After a few more moments of silence Mrs. Bei Fong arose.

"I am sorry Toph, truly I am. Please, leave this place, do whatever you wish, my only desire is that you be happy." And with that she walked away, leaving Toph behind on the path. Seconds passed by, and Toph did not move, her form still and vacant of any activity. Then, right when it seemed that everything was lost, she turned. Reaching out a hand she called out.

"Mother!" She cried, her voice tight. Tears welled in her eyes and fell down her face. She ran after her, running full into her mother's loving embrace.

"I forgive you. I forgive you for everything!" She cried, her voice choked with emotion. She squeezed her mother with all her might, unwilling to let her go ever again.

"Please, please, can't you forgive me?" Her mother held her tight, tears falling down her face.

"I forgive you, I forgive you. It's all right Toph. Everything is fine, my love." She cajoled softly, wrapping her arms around her daughter. Off in the background, watching closely, stood Zuko, pumping his fist in victory.

* * *

Aang and Katara sat behind a pillar, waiting for Mai to vacate the area. They had been following Ty-Lee and Mai forever, but they wanted her alone. If they confronted her with Mai by her side she was liable to play dumb or disregard their claims. Alone, however, she was a much easier target, as she did not function well without an authority figure close at hand.

They stood quietly behind the pillar, holding their breaths. Mai was currently looking out the window, just as she had been for the past five minutes, not speaking a word. Ty-Lee stood languidly by her side, bored with their current activity, voicing as much.

"What are we doing? This is boring." She griped, sighing. Mai ignored her whining companion, consumed in thought.

"We've got to tell him." She replied.

"Who?" Asked Ty-Lee. Mai turned around.

"Who do you think? He's got to know. If that lunatic is out and about you know he's not just going to stop at asking for Azula, he's probably already trying to find a way to break in. He's always over there, we've got to go warn him." Said Mai, starting off. Ty-Lee stood back.

"I don't want to go." She said. Mai stopped, turning back around.

"What do you mean you don't want to go?" She asked. Ty-Lee shifted uneasily on her feet.

"I don't like being around her when she's like that. She's even meaner than usual, and I'm afraid of her." Said Ty-Lee. Mai sighed, putting a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Alright, you can stay here, just go hide in your room for the moment; try to avoid the others. I still have to think it all over. Perhaps he'll have an idea of what to do." She said, turning and walking away.

Aang and Katara listened closely as Mai walked away from them, her footsteps receding until the sound of a door being opened echoed out. It slammed against the wall, a fierce wind blowing it back. Eventually the door shut, and the palace was quiet again. Ty-Lee sighed, slowly making her way towards her room.

Aang looked over at Katara, nodding his head. She gave him a reassuring nod, then they came out from around the pillar, walking up behind Ty-Lee.

"Ty-Lee." Said Aang, startling the poor girl. She jumped, spinning around with her hands up in a defensive position. Katara rolled her eyes.

"We're not going to hurt you, you moron." She said. Aang glared at her. They did not need to insult her at the moment, they were trying to get some sensitive information from her. Turning back to her he offered his biggest smile.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you there, I just wanted to talk." He said. Ty-Lee got nervous, her hands falling to her side.

"Ohh, well, uhh, I kinda have to get to my room at the moment." She said, turning and walking away. Aang hurried up in front of her, leaning on the door frame.

"I just need a minute." He said. Ty-Lee shook her head.

"No, I really need to go." She said, doing a flip over his arm and into the next room. Aang gritted his teeth, using his airbending to get in front of Ty-Lee again. He held out his hand, stopping her.

"Look, Ty-Lee, this is series. Lives could be at stake, including Azula's. You don't want to get her hurt, now, do you?" He asked. Ty-Lee froze, a debate raging in her mind. Aang contained a smile, knowing that he hit a nerve. Eventually she opened her mouth.

"Alright, what is it?" She said. Katara came up besides Aang.

"What do you know about Joshua?" She said. Ty-Lee blushed, shifting on her feet.

"Joshua, uhh, nothing, I don't even know that name." She said. Aang shook his head.

"Ty-Lee, we know you know him. You're a terrible liar; besides, he left me with a piece of paper saying that he knew you." Said Aang, stretching the truth a bit. Ty-Lee shook her head.

"Sorry, but I don't know anything about Jack's friend." She said, slapping a hand over her mouth after the words came out. Aang and Katara exchanged a shocked glance, turning back to Ty-Lee.

"Wait, what?!" Said Katara. Ty-Lee shook her head, pushing her way through the two of them.

"Sorry, got to leave!" She called, running down the hall.

"We've got to get her to talk." Said Katara. Aang nodded his head.

"Come on, let's go get Sokka, he'll know what to do." Leaving Ty-lee to go back to her room the pair went off in search of Sokka. After searching his room as well as the kitchen they found him in the library, a book on his knees. He seemed to be distracted, staring off into the fireplace instead of the rather large text on fire-nation history. Sighing he turned a page, not bothering to look at it at all. Katara and Aang came up to him, disrupting his melancholic mood.

"Sokka, we need your help." Said Aang. Sokka looked up at them languidly.

"What is it now? Can't you see I'm busy being depressed?" He said, letting out a long sigh. Katara rolled her eyes.

"No time for that now Sokka, we need you to get Ty-Lee to talk." She said. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you two are getting all nosy and trying to find out who she likes so you can set her up?" He said. Aang shook his head.

"Sokka, this is serious!' He said. Sokka shrugged his shoulders.

"So is love. So, what's up?" He said.

"You know that guy I said knocked me out?" Said Aang. Sokka put one leg on top of the other.

"You mean the guy we just got done talking about only an hour ago? Don't worry, I already sent a description to the guard, they'll have a poster of him up and running within a couple of hours." He said, leaning on his hand. Katara paused.

"Wait, you didn't try to draw the picture for them?" She said. Sokka let out a caustic laugh.

"What good is my drawing skills? If I had made the picture they would be looking for a scarecrow or something of the sorts. Who knows, they might mistake Zuko for the guy." He shook his head. "No, this time I left it to the professionals." He said, looking down at his book and turning the page. Katara shook herself.

"Well, good for you for finally admitting your faults but that isn't why we're here." She said. Sokka shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, you're the one's that brought it up." He said.

"Sokka, focus!" Said Aang, losing his patience. Sokka closed the book, setting it on the table next to him. He looked up at Aang, folding his hands in his lap and giving his friend his undivided attention.

"Alright, what is it you need my help with?" He said.

"Alright." Said Aang, relieved that he finally got to start. "So, when I was sitting there telling you guys about Joshua I noticed that Ty-Lee and Mai seemed rather attentive once I had mentioned that the guy had blonde hair. After you guys had left I found a piece of paper in my hand with her name on it. Since he had told me that he was going to point me in the right direction about Jack I figured that Ty-Lee must know more than she's letting on."

"As hard as that is to believe." Muttered Katara. Aang shot her a look then continued on with his story.

"When Katara and I went to confront her she sat there being all evasive, but we did manage to get her to slip up. When I asked her about Joshua she said that she knew nothing about Jack's friend, then she ran off." Finished Aang, looking at Sokka with an excited smile. Sokka stroked his chin for a moment, thinking about what he had said.

"So, you think that Ty-Lee knows more than she's letting on, and you want me to get it out of her." He said, summing it up. Aang nodded his head eagerly.

"We need the plan guy." Said Katara, stroking his pride a little. Sokka perked up at being called the plan guy again. He smiled, nodding his head.

"Alright, alright. Don't worry about it, the plan guy is on it." He said, standing up and slicking his hair back. He cracked his neck and left the room, leaving Aang and Katara to exchange a quick giggle.

They followed him out into the hall, walking a little behind him as he sauntered over to Ty-Lee's room. They had no clue as to what he was planning on doing, but hopefully it would work.

Coming up to her room, he fixed his shirt, straightening it out. Looking over at Aang and Katara he held up a hand, motioning for them to stay away and out of sight. They obliged, making their way behind a pillar across the hall. Once they were out of sight Sokka knocked on the door, putting on his most charming face. After a few moments the door opened hesitantly, Ty-Lee's face poking out from the crack.

"Who is it?" She asked. Sokka gave her a friendly smile.

"Hey, it's me, Sokka. I was just wondering if you could clear something up for me." He said. Ty-Lee opened the door wider, a bit flustered by his presence.

"Ohh, hey, uhm, how are you? I mean how can I help you?" She said, her cheeks blushing. Sokka leaned on a post, trying to look cool. Katara and Aang had to keep themselves from laughing.

"Well, I'm just a little confused, and I figured that you'd probably be the best person to see, you know, you're pretty good with stuff like this." He said. Ty-Lee opened the door all the way, stepping out.

"Stuff like what?" She asked. Sokka stood straight up.

"You know, smart stuff. I mean, you were the one coming up with the plans in the group right? I always thought so." He said, laying on the suave. Ty-Lee turned as red as a beet.

"Well, actually it was Azula who came up with most of the stuff." She said.

"But certainly you added a lot of the good stuff, right? Interjected Sokka. Ty-Lee brushed her braid back, a shy smile on her face.

"Well, I did help on occasion." She said, twiddling with her fingers. Sokka smiled.

"I thought so. That means that you can help me out." He said. Ty-Lee nodded her head, then realized she should probably say something.

"Ya, yes, I can really, uhm, I mean definitely help you out, with your problem." She fumbled. Sokka gave her a reassuring smile. Aang watched, trying to not feel a pang of guilt as he saw Sokka play on her emotions. It really was not all that fair for Ty-Lee, as Sokka was already in a relationship, but he really did want the information, and Sokka was doing such a great job, he was just going to have to let it play out.

"Well." Said Sokka, leaning back up against the pillar. "It's just this thing with Aang, and that guy who was in here. I was sitting there listening to Aang, and then I noticed you. I saw you sitting there staring at him with those big, intelligent eyes and I saw a spark in there. I don't know how much information you were rooting through in that half second but I knew it was a lot, so I thought that maybe you could help fill me in on the details of this Joshua guy." He said, laying the compliments on thick. Ty-Lee giggled, shifting on her feet.

"Well, I'm not really supposed to talk about it." She started. Sokka clicked his tongue.

"Ohh, come on, you can tell me. I mean, I know that you've already got this under control, but it would really just put my mind at ease if you'd let me in on the secret." He said, giving her his puppy eyes. Ty-Lee melted, not able to resist his cunning charm. She looked down the hall both ways, then leaned in close.

"Alright." She whispered, just loud enough for the two eavesdroppers to hear from across the hall.

"Joshua is an old friend of ours, and Jack's. When we were younger we…" Ty-Lee was cut off by Mai, storming down the hall at her. Immediately her countenance fell as she took a couple of steps back towards her room. Mai marched straight at Sokka, gave him a gruff shove, and grabbed Ty-Lee, bringing her into the room and slamming the door shut. She opened the door again to yell something real quick.

"Get, all of you!" She called out, slamming the door again. Sokka snapped his fingers, so close to getting it out of her. Katara and Aang came out from around the pillar, their faces downcast. Sokka walked over to them, putting his hands on his hips.

"Well, what now?" He said. They sat and thought for a moment, looing back at the door.

"Well, we could always try the direct approach." Said Katara. She looked over at Aang, then at Sokka, who both shrugged their shoulders. Turning back around, she went up to the door, and pounded on it.

* * *

"Joshua, you're alive?" Joshua frowned.

"What, you thought I was dead? Really, is that why you never came looking for me after you broke out?" Jack shook his head, shocked to see him here.

"No, that wasn't it Josh, I was just a bit…busy with other things." He said, looking askance at Azula. She stuck her tongue out at him. Joshua shook his head.

"Really, after all we've been through you decide to go play grab ass with Jemnile instead of coming after me?" Jack could feel Azula's frown behind him. She had never been very fond of her nickname.

"No, that's not it…" Started Jack.

"Then what was it?!" Demanded Joshua. "Because you sure as hell wasn't out to get her, I mean, she's still here. And I mean right here!" He yelled, pointing a finger behind him at Azula. Jack turned around to see Azula's smirking face. She was in a room with two people who rightly had the motivation to kill her, and yet she was still playing her hand with that smug look on her face. Jack shook his head. She was lucky he was on her side, for the moment. He held up his hands, trying to calm Joshua down.

"Josh, look, I know that you've been through a lot. Believe me, we've both have. But you need to take a second to think about all of this, about how it used to be." Said Jack. Joshua laughed.

"Are you kidding me kid? Really, what do you think I've been doing for the past three years locked up in the bubbler? I sure as hell wasn't playing patty-cake with the inmates if that was what you were thinking. No, most of the time I was in solitary." He said. "I even got a couple of lovely souvenirs while I was there." He said, turning to let Jack see his brands. Jack grimaced, feeling the rage build inside of him. He let out a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

"Look, Josh, I know what she's done to us. It's horrible, believe me, I know. But we can't bring her back by taking it out on her." He said, pointing behind him at Azula, who was hopefully not sticking her tongue out at the moment. Joshua shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

"You've got to be kidding me. Here I was thinking that you came in here every day to torture her, but instead you sitting here talking about your feelings and reminiscing about the good times? Are you kidding me? Holy damn, I'm in the looney house!" He screamed, turning around and throwing his arms up. Jack shifted his stance slightly, readying himself for an attack.

"How in the whole, good, wide world, can you sit here, and just let her live?" Asked Joshua, turning back around. "She deserves to die so many times over, I mean, we could torture her for the rest of our lives and still not get full retribution." He said. Jack shook his head slowly.

"Josh, it wasn't all her fault. Ozai had a hand in it as well." He said, watching his friend closely. Joshua jumped up and down, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Damn Ozai and damn her!" He screamed, his eyes wild. "I don't give a damn whose idea it was, she was there, she was standing next to her, and for all I care she did it!" He cried, his hands glowing with flames. "All the royal family has to pay, and they will. I'll burn there house to the ground and piss on the ashes, and anyone who gets in my way is going to burn with them." He said, his eyes zeroing in on Jack.

"Josh, don't do this. If you go down this path this path there may be no coming back. Believe me, I've done it, and there's no fulfillment down that way. Only forgiveness can bring you peace." He said, watching his friend. Joshua appeared to settle down some, slicking his hair back again and taking in a deep breath. He opened his eyes, staring at Jack with a cold, icy stare.

"You don't seem to understand kid, I don't want to have peace. My world was taken from me and burnt to a crisp, all I want to do is return the favor." He said, his hand moving behind his back.

"I had hoped that you would be on my side, and after everything I gathered about your actions over there I figured you were on my side, though you were messing things up pretty good. But hey, you didn't have me." He said with a laugh. Jack was not convinced.

"Look, I know that it's hard for you to take it out on her, after all you've been through, but I'm offering you a shot to let go of all that crap and make a real difference in the world." He said, holding his hand out to Jack. Azula perked up, watching the two closely as her fate hung in the balance. Jack turned around and looked back at her, ambivalence flashing through his eyes. She stared back at him, not with austerity, nor pleading, but just simple resignation. Whether or not that was her play Jack did not know, but it worked, he could not turn on her, not after everything that had happened. He turned back to Joshua, shaking his head slowly. Joshua nodded his head, bringing his hand back.

"Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way kid." He said, his other hand coming back around from behind his back.

"I prepared for an eventuality such as this; though I really thought it wasn't going to be necessary." He said, tossing the items to the floor at Jack's feet. They glinted of gold as they fell through the air, clattering with a metallic ring as they hit the stone. He looked down, recognizing the items.

"Suki's fan-blades." He muttered. He looked back up at Joshua.

"What have you done to her?!" He demanded, taking a step forward. Joshua held up a hand.

"Whoa there little buddy! You ain't getting nothing from me if you attack me. I haven't done anything to her, yet, but I can't guarantee how long she'll last." Jack froze, realizing what this meant.

"I have to choose." He said. Joshua gave him a sinister smile.

"That a boy, way to catch on! Look who's the fast learner!" He mocked, clapping his hands together.

"You can either save your little friend there, or you can keep trying to protect that nut-job, it's real simple." He said.

"Don't listen to him, he probably just stole them out of her room!" Yelled Azula. Jack turned around, startled. So far in the conversation she had not interrupted, save with a smirk.

"That may be so, but what if it is true, what then? Are you really willing to risk her life based on what she has to say? When has she ever told the truth?" Countered Joshua, playing her objection perfectly.

"Besides." Said Joshua. "I'm not like you Azula, I don't lie to my best friend." He said, giving Jack a friendly smile. Jack swallowed hard. He looked between Azula and the fan-blades. Was it truly fair for him to risk her life to protect Azula, after all that Suki had done to help them? He shook his head, his mind beginning to hurt. He felt that no matter which path he chose he was bound to lose this one. He looked back up at Azula.

"I will find you." He said. She took a couple of steps forward, her eyes wide.

"You can't leave me with him!" She said, grabbing unto his sleeve. Her hand trembled slightly, fear seizing hold of her. She was truly terrified, perhaps for the first time in her life. Jack tried to keep control of himself, knowing that he had to remain strong in order to get a victory from this.

"I'm sorry Jemnile." He said softly. Azula twitched, a battle raging in her mind. Her grip on his arm tightened, her nails digging into his flesh, but she ended up relinquishing her grasp, taking a step back, her eyes calming.

"Fine, I can take care of myself." She said, her lips quivering. Jack turned back around, facing Joshua's overjoyed face.

"Alright, how is this going to work?" He asked. Joshua stepped forward, putting a hand on his neck.

"You'll wake up with what you want." Said Joshua simply. A small prick made Jack wince. He stepped back out of Joshua's reach only to have the world around him spin. Lightning and fire lit up his vision, the images blurring into a single storm of brilliant colors, then he hit the ground, unconscious.


	5. Past Nightmares, Present Sorrows

**Chapter V**

Everyone sat in Ty-Lee's room, staring at each other. Katara had forced her way into the room and made her demand. Now Mai sat to the side, her back turned to them as she mulled it over. It turns out that she had come back because she thought that she could not trust Ty-Lee along with the others; of course she had been right.

Ty-Lee stood next to her, looking at her toes and trying to avoid looking over at Sokka, having realized what he had been playing at. Katara still stood with her arms crossed, staring at Mai's back. Sokka and Aang stood next to each other, exchanging a quick, uncomfortable glance. Finally, Mai turned around.

"No." She said simply, pointing out of her room, indicating that they should leave. Aang and Sokka shrugged their shoulders and started out, but Katara held firm.

"That's not good enough anymore. We aren't just going to settle for no, are we?" She said. Sokka and Aang froze, realizing that they were being drawn in on the conversation. Sokka sighed, turning back around.

"You know sis, they probably have this under control, no big deal. I think that I'm just going to go back to my book." He said, turning and trying to make his way out of the door. Katara turned on him.

"What do you mean no big deal? That nut knocked Aang unconscious!" She yelled. Sokka stopped, sighing.

"It's not that hard." Said Sokka. Katara scowled at him.

"Alright, alright." Said Sokka, putting his hands up. "I just think that if these two don't want to tell us what's up then it's none of our business. It's their dirty past, let them keep it." He said. Katara shook her head.

"But this isn't the past, this is now! It happened only an hour ago! We need to know about him! And." She said, whirling back on Mai. "We're not leaving until we get some answers!" Aang came back and stood by Katara, doing his best to look assertive.

"Good luck getting answers from me." Said Mai, yawning.

"You are so selfish, you know that!? Why in the world can't you think of us for a moment? I bet that if Azula hadn't went nuts you would still be at her side helping her out." Said Katara. Mai glared at her.

"Look her sweet-cakes. I changed sides regardless of Azula. I did the right thing on my own, regardless of what Azula thought or was acting like." She said. Katara threw up her hands in mockery.

"Ohh, pardon me. Ms. Virtuous here says she's a saint just because she helped her boyfriend out. Big whoop." She finished. Mai started to become angry.

"Listen here snow-peasant. Just because I'm not incompetent enough to stand directly in front of a bolt of lightning doesn't make me evil." She said. Sokka turned, coming to his sister's defense.

"Hey. Just because we're not a bunch of pompous nobles doesn't mean we don't know what we're talking about. Look who won the war?" He said. The conversation erupted from there. Yelling and screaming was done by both sides. Aang hopped in after Mai made a somewhat rude insinuation about Katara's dating life. Tempers began to flare, and soon it seemed as if blows were going to be exchanged, but Ty-Lee had had enough. The noise around her was too chaotic, and seeing her friends break apart over an old nightmare just did not seem fitting, so she did the one thing she knew would quiet everyone down, she screamed.

"We grew up with them!" She cried at the tops of her lungs. The conversation halted in an instant, all eyes turning to her. Mai covered her face with a gloved hand, groaning. She knew that the gig was up. Sokka came up to Ty-Lee, stunned.

"What did you say?" He asked. Ty-Lee shifted on her feet, nervous with everyone staring at her.

"We grew up with them, both of them; Jack and Joshua." She said softly. Aang and Katara looked at each other.

"You grew up with them, what does that mean exactly?" Asked Katara. Ty-Lee opened her mouth, then shut it, not feeling so confident about her plan anymore. Mai shook her head, determining that it was time to spill it all, with or without his permission.

"We were all childhood friends. We grew up together, played together, stuff like that." She said. Sokka, Aang, and Katara now turned to her.

"Wait, if you were friends, then what in the world happened? Who is Jack? And why in the world did Joshua attack Aang?" Asked Katara. Mai pinched her nose.

"Why don't you all just sit down, I'll tell you the story from the beginning, maybe then you'll understand this all better." She said. The others looked at each other for a moment, then sat down, Aang missing a seat all together and landing on the floor. He got up and sat next to Katara. Mai shook her head.

"It all started when we were eight years old, right before Zuko's mom committed treason to protect him. We were playing in the garden, if you could call it that, when we heard something on the other side of the wall. Azula said that we should go check it out, and since what she said went, we all went over to the wall. We climbed up on one of the trees close to the wall and hopped on, looking over to see what was making the noise. It turned out that it was two boys, playing some game with firebending. I don't even remember how it worked, but they were just sitting there, out in the back street, playing away. Azula was particular taken with one of them, Jack, and so immediately decided that we should hop down and introduce ourselves. Once again there wasn't much to say on it, as whatever Azula wanted to do we all did, so we jumped down and went over to them. To make a long story short it turned out that they were street rats. They lived with Joshua's older sister, Amy, who worked in a tea shop to support them. Jack wasn't related to them, but he had no parents, and since Joshua did not either they had bonded quickly, becoming best friends. Azula ended up butting in on their game and demanding that they let her play. Joshua laughed, thinking that a girl couldn't do it, but Jack wanted to let her try. They let her play, and when she showed them what she could do they were impressed and invited her to play with them in their slum area. Apparently they frequently got kicked out of the royal streets by the guards, so it would just be easier if they all went back to where they lived. Of course she wanted to, but there was no way that her mother would let her. So, instead, she ended up talking her parents into bringing the boys to the palace. How that had went over I had no clue, but I just knew that after that every time I came over they were there, doing something or the other, usually firebending games. She liked to play with them more because they could actually firebend, unlike Zuko." Mai sighed, shaking her head at the memories.

"If you guys all grew up together, what happened?" Asked Aang. Mai looked out the window at the raging storm, then back at the others. She actually seemed sad.

"Diamondbending happened." She said simply. "I don't know how, or when, but all I do know is that when she found out about it she went straight to her father, just like any good girl would. You see, Diamondbenders used to be a more common thing in the past but…" Aang held up his hand, interrupting her.

"We already know about this. I was there when the last ones were executed, or so I thought, until I met Jack." He said. Mai did not seem surprised. Shrugging her shoulders she continued on with her story.

"Well, unfortunately, Ozai knew about them as well. He knew of their potential and what they could do. Having a diamondbender in your army, it was the ultimate weapon. It was almost like having the avatar on your side, only this one wasn't constrained by moral obligations." Sokka shook his head.

"What did they do when they found out, they didn't join him did they?" Mai shook her head.

"No. When Azula told them, they were afraid, and they ran and hid. They were fire-nation, but they didn't believe in the war effort. Amy had taught them that what the fire-nation was doing was wrong. So when Azula told them what her father had in mind they ran away. Joshua hid Jack, taking him away with him to who knows where. We were thirteen at the time."

"So what did Azula do?" Asked Katara. Mai glared at her.

"Azula didn't do anything!" She snapped. "That's something that I don't think either of them understands, or you guys. It was all Ozai's idea." Said Mai, bitterness in her voice. Katara softened, seeing how much it hurt Mai to talk about this.

"Sorry, I just assumed. So, what did Ozai do?" She asked. Mai ran a gloved hand past her nose.

"They took Amy and scheduled a public execution for her." She said, throwing her hands up. "They put fliers up everywhere. It said that they had captured an earth-kingdom spy, though she readily showed them that she could firebend." Added Mia with a snort.

"It said that unless her accomplices came out of hiding she would be executed, and her body put on display. I don't know what was running through their heads as the day approached, all I know was that nothing happened. The day came, and the drums started beating, when suddenly they appeared out of nowhere. They jumped off of the roof, coming right inside the courtyard. They tried their best, they really did; Joshua even got close, but there were just too many of them, and they were too young." Aang raised an eyebrow.

"They're not you Aang, it's not like they had the avatar state when they made a mistake." Said Mai, noticing his look. She shook her head, the dreadful memory rushing through her head.

"They were captured, and in the end, after it was all said and done, they killed Amy anyways, just to try and break them. They killed her, and Azula was standing right next to her. After that they threw the boys in two separate prisons. One here in the fire-nation, the other in fire-nation controlled earth-kingdom territory. Ozai tasked Zuko and Azula with breaking them and turning them to our side, but soon after that the thing with Zuko happened, and he was banished, leaving Azula alone to do the job. At first she was harsh on both of them; she felt as if they had betrayed her by running away. In the end though she could never break them. No matter what she did to them they would not break, and so she ended up relenting, leaving them be. After all of it, all she did was make them hate her more." Finished Mai, staring off. Sokka shook his head.

"I can't believe it. All this time, he was fire-nation? Not only was he fire-nation, but he grew up with you guys!?" He yelled, standing up.

"Why in the world didn't Zuko say anything to us?" Asked Katara. Mai shrugged her shoulders, recapturing her usual apathetic nature.

"He probably didn't want to talk about it. He did shoot Jack in the back at Ba Sin Sey. Besides, did you ever ask him about it?" The three looked at each other, shaking their heads.

"Still, why didn't either of you tell us?" Asked Aang. "We're all on the same side now." He said.

"He told us not to tell you." Replied Mai. "He said that he was going to tell you when he was ready. He just didn't know how you would take it." She said. Sokka shook his head.

"He was right to fear our reactions." He said, anger burning in his chest.

"Wait." Said Katara. "I thought he had amnesia?" She said. Mai lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, he seems perfectly fine to me, aside from a nervous twitch, but hey, three years of torture can do that to you." She said.

"He lied to us." Said Sokka, bitterness seeping into his voice. Aang shook his head.

"Alright, so, Jack isn't who he said he was, or at least he's more than what he led us to believe, but that's kinda beside the point at the moment. We need to focus on this Joshua guy; if I were to guess I'd say that he was out to get all of you guys who had a hand in it, though Azula must be at the top of his list." Said Aang. Mai nodded her head.

"That about sums it up. He mostly blames Azula, as he always blamed her for everything, but I'm pretty sure that he'll come after all of us. It's only a matter of time." She said, resigned.

"He's not stable. I don't think he's ever been, but at least back then he had his sister to keep him in check, but now." Mai shook her head. "He's a mad man, pure and simple. This guy is going to burn the world to the ground in order to get at us, and I don't know if we can stop him." She continued. Katara snorted.

"Please, just because you can't handle this guy doesn't mean that we'll have a problem with him as well. What's one more firebender?" She said, looking at Aang and Sokka who readily nodded their agreement. Ty-Lee stepped in.

"You don't get it, do you? Where do you think Jack learned it from? It just didn't pop into his head one day." She said. Sokka looked at her.

"What are you saying?"

"Jack isn't the real diamondbender." Said Mai. "Joshua is. He learned from his sister's books that were passed on to her from her parents and their grandparents before that. Jack just happened to be one as well, but Joshua is the real deal. And since he broke out of prison he probably has become even more powerful than ever. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he found himself a bending master for each element. None of us are safe while he's out of prison." She said. A thought suddenly occurred to Sokka.

"Where's Suki?"

* * *

His mind was groggy, slow, as if he was slogging through a bog. He tried pulling himself out, but he could not even remember why he wanted to be awake. It was so relaxing sitting there, letting his mind be overcome by the strange visions that danced before him; why should he get up? It was too hard to wake up, he might as well just sit here and let his body rest, that way he had more energy when he went after Joshua.

His eyes fluttered open at the thought. Joshua.

Standing up, he looked about the room, his mind reeling from whatever Joshua had injected him with. He stumbled and fell against the wall, a pungent odor meeting him. Opening his eyes again he looked at the wall, noticing the black scorch marks. For a moment they seemed to be dripping black ooze, but after he accidently hit his head against the marks his mind cleared up, and the black ooze disappeared.

Jack stood up, using the wall to steady himself. He had to focus, somebody's life was at stake, he just could not remember whose. Was it Azula's? Or was it his own? Aang's? He rammed his head against the wall once more just for good measure. Pain flared up, clearing his head.

No, it was not Azula, it was Suki. The sound of his feet hitting her fan-blades below him only reconfirmed that fact. Joshua had done something to her, but what? And where was she?

Jack blinked, trying to focus his mind. Had Joshua told him and now he had just forgot? No, that was not it. Joshua had told him that he would wake up with the information that he wanted.

Quickly he looked around him, trying to find some clue or note that would tell him where to go. The whole cell was scorched and black. Apparently Azula had not gone easily. Mounds of earth were everywhere, along with some ice shards. In such a close space she must have given him a run for his money. Joshua was good but he relied on wide open spaces in order to move about at a lightning speed. Here, inside a tight, confined cell, there was not a lot of places that he could move to, aside from outside the cell.

Jack shook his head. He had to focus! What in the world was he looking for? Did Joshua even leave him a note, or was he lying to him? That did not sound like Joshua, but three years in prison can really change how you act.

As time went on and Jack still could not find anything he became aggravated. Yelling he punched the wall, feeling as if he had been played by his old friend. The wall gave way as he hit it, billowing out as his fist made contact. That's when he noticed the little piece of paper in his hand. Rolling his eyes he opened his hand, looking at the note. A little note was scrawled across it.

_Good Ol Jacky boy_

_Won't you come with me to that _

_Nice Ol cherry tree_

Jack shook his head. Joshua had always been bad at haikus, but this was plain stupid. Why could he not just say that Suki was at the cherry tree? Or even just that she was in the royal garden? What was the point of writing a pathetic haiku? Realizing that Suki was probably in danger he shook himself out of the thought. He did not have time to ponder his friend's poor haiku writing abilities, someone's life was at stake.

Turning, Jack made his way out of the cell, running at a dead sprint. He passed through the halls, the other prisoners louder than normal. They hooted and hollered as he passed by. Shrill screeches deafened him as they cried out, some of them actually writhing in pain. It seemed as if the whole prison had decided to go from just plain nuts to pure psycho with Joshua's arrival. He wondered why it was that no guards were trying to calm them down, but when he reached the first gate he found out why. They were all dead.

He bent down on a knee, checking for a pulse that he knew he was not going to find. The body was shredded, blood splattered everywhere. The guard's intestines seemed to be on the outside of his stomach, the rib cage bowed outwards, puncturing through the chest. Jack tried to not throw up, but it was a difficult task. It seemed as if the body had exploded from the inside out. He shook his head. How in the world had Joshua done this?

Moving on he slipped on the mixture of blood and intestinal fluid that lay on the stone. He caught himself before hitting the ground, taking his time to properly make his way through the slick liquid before taking off at a run.

As he passed by the other gates it was all the same story. They were either blown up from the inside out, or else they were shredded by what could have only been diamond blades. Body parts lay all over, blood and other bodily fluids coating the path. Once he slipped, falling into a pool of blood that had formed on the ground. He splashed in it, luckily keeping his face from coming into contact with it by bracing himself with his hands, which only meant that his hands and pants were now covered in blood.

He passed by more and more dead bodies, signs of resistance apparent, but it must have been futile. No one had made it. It was a waste of time to check for pulses, as some of the guards did not even have heads attached to their necks. Jack shook his head, a ghastly odor rising from the bodies as he continued on.

By the time he reached the main entry he was ready to puke. However, when he saw what lay before him, he just got it over with and threw up right then and there. Over fifteen bodies, or what was left of them, littered the ground. Blood was splattered everywhere, scorch marks lining the walls. Heads lay splayed about, some attached to their bodies, others severed, while some had just been pulverized. Tears leapt into his eyes as he realized that it was his old friend that had done all of this. Whatever Azula had done to him had worked. Joshua had never been capable of doing such a thing. Sure he had a temper, but he had generally kept it under control, and he had always looked out for Jack.

But now, now he was a mad man. He had slaughtered everyone that had gotten in his way just to get at Azula. Terror seized hold of him as he began to imagine what Joshua would do to Azula now that he had her. There was no telling whether or not they would be able to identify the body by the time they got to her, if they ever found her.

Shaking himself, Jack forced himself to walk across the main hall, keeping his eyes focused on the exit. Slowly, one foot at a time, he crossed the massacre, his boots splashing in what could only be the blood of the victims. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he reached the door. Shoving it to he went out to find the elements raging, and a four man patrol. The guards were coming up to the prison, no doubt wondering why it was that they had missed a scheduled check in. When they saw Jack they seemed relieved. He knew a couple of them, they were good men, very helpful. One of them, Tanjin, came up to him, hesitating when he saw the blood on Jack's hands.

"Sir?" He said slowly, his hand falling to his sword. Jack shook his head, his throat tied in a knot. Tanjin looked behind him, trying to see into the prison.

"What happened?" He asked. Jack took in a deep settling breath, knowing that he had to keep it together.

"Contact fire-lord Zuko. Tell him that he must come back at once, black priority." Tanjin looked at Jack, shocked.

"Black priority?" He said, confused. Jack continued on.

"Tell him simply that Joshua is back." Jack looked over his shoulder at the mess behind him.

"Someone has to retrieve those bodies." He said. "They deserve a proper funeral." Tanjin came up beside him, his body shaking as he looked inside. The guard went off to the side, puking his guts out. The other guards came up, two more going off to throw up. The last one, an old war veteran, merely shook his head after looking in.

"What the devil happened?" He asked, looking at Jack. Jack shook his head.

"I wish I knew." He said, looking back once more.

"I need to get back to the palace as soon as possible; it's a matter of life and death." He said. The older man nodded his head.

"Take one of the komodo-rhinos, we'll have to stay to start an investigation anyways." He said. Jack looked back at him.

"You don't want to question me?" He asked. The old vet shook his head, wispy white hair fluttering on his head.

"Believe me kid, I can tell when someone's done something, and you sure as hell didn't. Get out of here, I doubt that you want to watch as we drag these bodies out." He said. Jack shook his head, thanking the old guard and making his way down to the komodo-rhinos, hoping that he was not too late.

* * *

Sokka wondered about the halls, Aang right beside him. After his declaration they had split up, girls and boys. They had no clue whether or not Suki was actually in danger, or if Joshua was even around and about, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Sokka and Aang had already checked Suki's room and the kitchen. They had not seen a sign of her. Even the servants seemed not to know where she was. None of them had seen her since early this morning.

"You know, she might have gone to the market." Said Aang. Sokka shook his head.

"In weather like this?" He said. Aang dropped his eyes, hurt at having his idea shot down. Sokka came to a stop, sighing.

"If we don't find her soon then we'll head off to the market, alright?" He said, turning back around and moving down the hall. Aang followed him closely, poking his head in a few rooms as he passed them. Sokka called out her name, hoping to hear an irritated response, but instead just meeting silence. Picking the pace up the two began to jog down the halls, stopping in every doorway and looking in. Nothing. Everywhere they looked there was no sign of Suki.

Panic began to well up in Sokka's chest as he thought of losing yet another person he loved. He tried to shake himself, to tell himself he was just being paranoid, but he just could not shake off the feeling that once again he had failed. Aang seemed to pick up on the premonition. He looked at Sokka, then back around, his heart beginning to race.

"Do you think this Joshua guy is as dangerous as Mai and Ty-Lee made him out to be?" Asked Aang. Sokka came to a stop, catching his breath.

"Tell me this Aang, in all the times that those two girls chased us during the war, did you ever see them actually afraid?" He said. Aang shook his head.

"Ya, me neither. But Joshua, the real diamondbender, this guy makes them start shaking. It just isn't a good sign." Finished Sokka, realizing that he too was a bit afraid. He remembered some of the things that Jack had shown him, and they were impressive. But someone who had an actually mastery of the art. He shook his head. That was someone to be fearful of.

Sokka turned back down the hall, looking around.

"We aren't going to cover enough ground at this rate, we need to split up." He said. Aang shook his head.

"You heard what Mai said, we need to stick together." Sokka looked down the hall, then back at Aang. It seemed safe enough.

"Alright, tell you what we do. You go down that hall there, and I'll go down that way, then we'll meet up around the corner. Technically we're not splitting up because we'll still be in yelling distance and we'll meet up again." Said Sokka. Aang did not seem convinced.

"But what if you get taken out all quiet like." Said Aang. Sokka opened his mouth to speak, then paused.

"What do you mean me?" He said indignantly. Aang shrugged his shoulders.

"Just saying. I'm the avatar, so I can protect myself pretty well, but you, you're the boomerang guy. Not much you can do about a diamondbender." Said Aang, a slight grin on his face. Sokka shook his head.

"Geesh, this coming from the kid that was knocked out by this loon only an hour ago." He said, starting off down his hall. He pushed Aang down the other.

"We don't even know if this guy is even in the palace. More than likely he's out and about somewhere else." Called Sokka, yelling over his shoulder. Aang looked once more at Sokka, then ran down his hall, checking the doors as fast as he could. Sokka did likewise, coming up empty and meeting Aang around the corner, just like he had said.

"See." Said Sokka. "No problem." Aang smiled. They looked down the next set of halls.

"Same plan?" Asked Aang. Sokka nodded his head, and they took off once more. This time, when Sokka neared the end of the hall, he noticed something. The door to the garden seemed to be open slightly, though the wind should have blown it open all the way. Coming over to it he noticed that the ground was bent slightly out of shape, keeping the door from opening any wider. He looked out the window, trying to see out, but the bushes obscured most of his vision.

Grumbling, Sokka kicked at the door, trying to bust it down. It took him a few tries, luckily no one was watching him. He picked his way through the splinters, forcing his way through. Coming outside he was battered by a howling wind, leaves swept up by it, smacking him in the face. Spluttering, he smacked the leaves away from his mouth, starting at a jog down the path.

"Suki! Suki! Dang it woman, where are you!?" He called out, but his voice did not get far. The wind swept it away, bringing with it instead the peals of thunder. Sokka stopped, looking up at the sky. Bolts of lightning streaked from cloud to cloud. It made him a bit jumpy. Reminded him too much of Azula.

Shaking himself, Sokka kept moving down the path, looking from side to side and calling out Suki's name. He found nothing. There seemed to be nothing out in the garden, which meant he splintered the door for nothing. Looking around once more he called out her name, but the only response was a creaking noise from behind him.

Freezing, Sokka turned around, slowly. He looked in the direction of the noise, noticing the cherry tree that blocked his vision of the other side. Taking a tentative step forward the creak met him again. A shadow played at the ground next to the tree, moving in and out, in and out.

Sokka took in a deep breath, his body shaking. His blood had turned to ice and his will had vanished, but still he was compelled forward by some morbid feeling. He did not want to look around the tree, but he had to, there was no avoiding it. Every step closer brought another wave of terror that threatened to swallow him whole. He had never heard that noise before, nor had he any clue what the shadow was; the only thing he did know was that he had to look, though he did not want to.

He came up directly behind the tree, putting his hand against the smooth bark to steady himself. The noise had grown louder, but it was currently blurred out by a peal of thunder. His heart was thumping in his chest, and his palms were sweating, but he had to go on, he had to know what was on the other side of the tree. Taking in a deep breath, he moved to go around the tree, but his feet lay firmly planted in the ground, refusing to move. He looked down at them, a disappointing scowl on his face.

"Come on guys." He said, trying to muster up some bravado. "Let's just take a look real quick, it'll be all right." He said, reassuring himself. Taking a moment he decided to take out his boomerang, more of a comfort thing than actual protection, as the wind was liable to play havoc with it if he threw it. The sound of it clattering against the tree made him look at his shaking hands. He breathed out slowly.

"All right, time to do this." He muttered, stepping around the tree. His boomerang fell to the ground, its landing softened by the grass. He reached out a shaky hand, trying to process what was happening. Slowly he moved forward, shaking his head.

"No, no, no, no." He mumbled, retrieving his hand and putting it over his mouth. Tears burst into his eyes and fell down his cheeks as he tried to maintain control. He closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. His whole body began to shake as he fell to his knees, sobs racking his entire body. He leaned forward, putting his face in his hands, crying into them. Shaking he looked back up, forcing himself to his feet. Anger overtook him as he reached out, both his hands trembling.

"No, no, no!" He cried, touching the body. It swung at his touch, the rope creaking as it moved the body back and forth. Suki's pale form hung from the tree, the rope digging into her neck and cutting the skin. Her pale blue lips sat below vacant eyes, void and lifeless. Sokka screamed at the top of his lungs, thunder and lightning striking above him.

"Noooooooooooooo!" He cried, falling to his knees once more. His hands trailed down Suki's dress, coming to rest on her feet, cold and bare. He sat there, sobbing violently, his purpose in life once again void and hallow. How long he sat there, who's to say, he did not notice the passing of time. A gnawing emptiness tugged at his soul. He was empty, used up, exhausted. His soul cried out but with no voice, he had not the words to express his sorrow, so instead he wailed out into the coming storm, wishing that death would find him soon and grant him solace.

Eventually he was found. Aang had noticed the broken door and had called out for help, the girls happening to be nearby. They had all made their way into the garden, calling out Sokka's name, but he did not hear them, so engulfed by his sorrow. They found him though, sitting at Suki's feet, tears rushing down his face. Katara saw Suki, then took Aang in her grasp, forcing his head into her chest.

"Don't look Aang, don't look. You don't want to remember her like this, not like this." She said, tears falling down her cheeks. Aang sobbed in her chest, knowing full well that Suki was gone. Ty-Lee turned away, sobbing into her arms. The only one that appeared to be unmoved was Mai. She came up to the body, a blank look on her face. Taking out a knife she reached up for the rope, but Sokka noticed

"No." He said, his voice hoarse and gruff. Mai moved out of the way as he stood up, wiping his tears away. He pulled out his own knife, reaching up with one hand to cut the rope while he held onto Suki with his other hand. In a second the rope snapped, her body falling into his arms. He dropped the knife to catch her. He lifted her up, his lips quivering as he stared into her face cold, blank face. He lifted up a shaky hand, closing her eyes. Slowly he made his way off, making back towards the palace, silent, save for the tears that fell down his face. The others followed him, trailing silently, only Mai stayed behind, looking around at the ground. She bent over and picked up Sokka's knife, sighing. The snap of a branch behind her made her spin around, knives poised at the ready. It was just Jack, his hands on his knees. He was sweaty, and out of breath.

"Suki…is she?" He started. Mai shook her head. Jack stood up running a hand through his hair. He let loose a strand of profanity, cursing at the skies and thrashing about. When he came back he fell to his knees, out of breath, and haggard. Mai looked at him, knowing that something else had happened.

"Where's Azula?" She asked. Jack looked up at her, tears brimming in his eyes. Slowly he shook his head. Mai drew in a breath, then walked away, her knives gripped tightly in her hands. Jack sat outside, the rain beginning to fall down on him. He had failed.


End file.
